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THE 

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HISTORY 

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UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 


FROM   THE 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  CONTINENT  ' 

*•  . 


TO   THE 


CLOSE  OF  THE   FIRST  SESSION  OF  THE  THIRTY- 
FIFTH   CONGRESS. 


BT 


II.    PATTON,   A.M.** 

.  ^     «  -_ , 


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NEW  YOEK: 
D.    APPLETON    AND     COMPANY, 

346    &    348     BROADWAY. 
1860. 


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Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 
J.  H.  PATTON, 


In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York. 


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PREFACE. 


t  ELABORATE  histories  of  the  United  States  have  been 
ably  written ;  compends,  or  school  histories,  and  well 
adapted  to  the  place  they  are  designed  to  fill,  are 
numerous.  Between  these  compends  and  the  works 
extending  to  six  or  more  volumes,  there  is  room,  as 
well  as  necessity,  for  a  history  that  shall  be  sufficiently 
elaborate  to  trace  the  direct  influences  that  have  had  a 
power  in  moulding  the  character  of  the  nation  and  its 
institutions,  moral  and  political — a  volume  that  should 
present  as  fully  as  is  consistent  with  this  design,  those 
events  which  are  interesting  in  themselves,  or  charac- 
teristic of  the  times  and  people.  Such  a  volume  the 
author  of  this  work  has  endeavored  to  supply.  It  is 
hoped  the  general  reader  will  find  in  it  a  succinct  as 
well  as  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  subject,  which  of 
itself  is  worthy  the  study,  especially  of  our  own  coun- 
trymen, t 


. 

iv    • 


PREFACE. 


A.CE.  «* 


While  the  author  has  availed  himself  of  ori 

.j^>  dr  *^  •U"      *J"  A*      .^M      ^  .    .      ^1 


authorities,  he  takes  pleasure  in  acknowledging  his  ob- 
ligations, among  others,  to  the  following  works :  His- 
tories of  the  United  States,  by  Bancroft,  Hildreth,  and 


f    , 


^  M 
Tucker;  Irving's  Life  of  Washington ;  C.W.Elliott's 

.^--  History  of  New  England ;  Broadhead's  History  of  New 
York;  Benton's  Thirty  Years'  View;  Abridgment  of* 
Debates  inOongress,  by  the  same  author ;  Duyckinck's. 
Cyclopaedia  of  American  Literature ;  Dr.  Hawks'  Con- 
tributions to  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  United 
States;  Dr.  Robert  Baird's  Religion  in  America.  -* 

*  NEW  YORK,  September,  1859. 

*  '  v ' 

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CONTENTS. 

*Hf       ip'  -™ im    — 

*^»> 

COLUMBUS. 

His  Discoveries,  4     Misfortunes,  5.    Death,  5.    Amerigo  Vespucci  and  the 
name  America,  6. 


CHAPTER  II  ^^^^_ 

ABORIGINES. 


CHAPTER  III 


SPANISH   DISCOVERIES   AND    CONQUESTS. 

'   9fe         £    Jfl 

^South  Sea,  11.  First  Voyage  round  the  World,  11.  Ponce  de  Leon,  12. 
Florida,  Discovery  and  Attempt  to  Settle,  12.  Vasquez  de  Ayllon,  13, 
Conquest  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  14. 

£& 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ENGLISH   AND   FRENCH   DISCOVERIES. 

John  Cabot  discovers  the  American  Continent,  16.  His  son,  Sebastian,  16. 
Voyages  of  Verrazzani,  17.  Voyages  of  Cartier,  18.  Attempts  at  Set- 
tlement, 20. 


CHAPTER  V. 

DE   SOTO   AND   THE   MISSISSIPPI. 


Lands  at  Tampa  Bay,  23.     On  the  Mississippi,  25.    Death  of  De  Soto, 
^  CHAPTER  VI. 


THE   REFORMATION  AND' ITS   EFFECTS. 

^L. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   HUGUENOTS   IN  THE   SOUTH. 

Their  Settlement  destroyed,  30,  31.     The  Colony  of  St.  Augustine,  32.    De 
Gourges,  34.     Settlements  in  New  France,  35.     Champlain,  and  his 


Success,  36. 


•„• 


* 

I 


CONTENTS. 


* 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  38. 


U 


v  CHAPTER  VIII. 

ENGLISH   ENTERPRISE. 

The  _ 

xploring 

pain,  42. 


•<V: 


heries — St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  39. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  39.     Exploring  Expedition — Tirginia,%0.     Fail-  d£ 
res  to  colonize,  41.     Contest  with  Spain,  42.     Death  of  Sir  Walter,  43.    • 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   SETTLEMENT   OP  VIRGINIA. 


London  and  Plymouth  Companies,  46.  King  James'  Laws,  46.  The  Voy- 
age and  Arrival — Jamestown,  47.  John  Smith ;  his  energy,  47.  His 
Captivity,  49.  Misery  of  the  Colonists,  50.  New  Emigrants,  51. 
Lord  DeUware.  52.  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  53.  Pocahontas;  her  Cap- 
ture'and  ^Carriage,  54.  George  Yeardley,  55.  First  Legislative  As-* 
.sembly,  56. 

CHAPTER  X. 


. 


LONIZA-ftON   OF  NEW   ENGLAND. 

First  Voyage  to,  57.  Explorations  of  John  Smith,  58.  The  Church  of 
England,  59.  The  Puritans,  60.  Congregation  of  John  Robinson,  61. 
Pilgrims  in  Holland,  62.  Arrangements  to  emigrate,  63.  The  Voyage, 
65.  Their  prominent  Men,  66.  A  Constitution  adopted,  67.  Landing 
at  Plymo^h,  68.  Sufferings#-Indians,  69.  Weston's  Men,  71.  Thanks- 
giving, 72.  Democratic  Government,  73. 

V  4b>  t      ' 

CHAPTER  XI. 

COLONY    OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 

A  Company  organized  ;  Settlement  of  Salem,  75.  The  Charter  transferred, 
76.  Boston  and  Vicinity  settled,  77.  Roger  Williams ;  his  Banish- 
ment; he  founds  Providence,  78.  Discussions  renewed — Anne  Hutchin- 
sop '  Settlement  of  Rhode  Island,  80.  The  Dutch  at  Hartford ;  Dis- 
putes with,  81.  Migrations  to  the  Connecticut ;  Hooker  and  Haynes, 
82.  Pequod  War,  84.  Rev.  John  Davenport;  Settlement  of  New 
Haven,  88.  Sir  Ferdinand  Gorges;  New  Hampshire,  89.  The  United 
Colonies,  90.  Educated  Men ;  Harvard  College,  Printing  Press,  Com- 
mon Schools,  91.  Quakers ;"  Persecution  of,  92.  Eliot  the  Apostle — 
the  Mayhews,  93.  Progress,  94. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

%*  *   • 

RYLAND. 

Slavery — Massacre  by  the  Indiaiis,  96.  Lord  Baltimore,  99.  Settlement  of 
,WMaryland,  100.  Clayborne's  Rebellion,  101.  Toleration— Berkeley 
Governor  of  Virginia,  Intolerance,  102.  State  of  Society,  U)3.  Aris- 
tocratic Assembly,  104.  War  with  the  Susquehannas— Nathaniel 
Bacon,  105.  Disturbances,  Obnoxious  Assembly  dissolved,  106.  James- 
t$wn  burned;  Death  of  Bacon,  107.  Tyranny  of  Berkeley;  Aristo- 
cratic Assembly;  its  Illiberal  Acts,  1<>8.  Deplorable  State  of  the 
Colony,  109.  CoUege  of  William  and  Mary,  110.  Troubles  in  Mary- 
land, ill. 


* 


.« 


..: 


* 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

COLONIZATION   OF  NEW  YORK. 


I 

" 


* .  p 


Vll 


Hudson's  Discoveries,  112.  A  Change  Brought,  113.  The  Fort  on  the  Isle 
of  Manhattan,  114.  Walloons — the  first  Settlers — Peter  Minuits,  115. 
ThePatroons;  Van  Twiller  Governor,  116.  Kieft  his  Successor,  117. 
Difficulties  with  the  Indians,  118.  They  seek  Protection;  their  Mas- 
sacre, 119.  Peace  concluded,  122.  Stuyvesant  Governor,  123.  The 
Swedish  Settlement  on  the  Delaware  ;  Pavonia,  124.  New  Netherlands 
Surrendered  to  England,  126.  The  Influence  of  the  Dfctch,  127. 
Settlements  in  New  Jersey;  Scotch  Presbyterians,  128. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

COLONIZATION   OF   PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  Quakers,  130.  William  Penn  ;  his  Education,  131.  Obtains  a  Charter, 
133.  Lands  at  New  Castle;  Philadelphia  founded,  134.  Rights  of  the 
Indians,  135.  German  Emigrants,  136.  Fletcher  the  Royal  Governor, 
137.  New  Charter  granted  the  People — Presbyterians  from  Ireland 
and  Scotland,  138.  Trials  of  Penn  ;  his  Death — Benjamin  Franklin,  139. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


'• 


COLONIZATION   OF   THE    CAROLINAS. 

The  first  Settlers,  141.  Grants  to  Royal  Favorites— The  "  Grand  Model," 
142.  '  Settlement  at  Cape  Fear  River— Sir  John  Yeamans,  143.  Emi- 
grants under  Sayle,  144.  The  Huguenots,  145.  The  People  Independ- 
ent, 146.  Churchmen  and  Dissenters,  147.  Rice — Manufactures  pro- 
hibited, 148.  War — Failure  to  capture  St.  Augustine,  149.  The  Ruin 
of  the  Apalachees,  150.  Religious  Controversies,  151.  Indian  Wars- 
German  Emigrants,  152.  The  People  repudiate  the  Authority  of  the 
Proprietaries,  155. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

COLONIZATION   OF   GEORGIA. 

Founded  in  Benevolence — Oglethorpe,  156.  First  Emigration,  157.  Sa- 
vannah— Encouragements,  158.  Germans  from  the  Western  Alps,  159. 
The  Moravians— Scotch  Highlanders,  161.  The  Wesleys— Whitefield ; 
his  Orphan  House,  162.  War  with  Sp°ain  ;  its  Cause,  163.  Failure  to 
capture  St.  Augustine,  164.  Repulse  of  the  Spanish  Invaders,  165. 
The  Colbny  becomes  a  Royal  Province,  166. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

The    Restoration,    167.      The    Commissioners — Progress   of   Trade, 

Causes  of  King  Philip's  War,  169.  Death  of- Wamsutta,  170.  State  of 
the  Colony — Attack  at  ,Swanzey,  171.  Philip  among  the  Nipmucks, 
*  172.  Attacks  on  Northfield— on  Hadley,  Goffe,  173.  Tragedy  at 
Bloody  Brook — The  Xarraganset  Fort  destroyed,  174.  Philip  returns 
to  Mount  Hope  to' die,  175.  Disasters  of  <the  War,  176.  James  II. — 
his  Intolerance,  177.  The  Charters  in  danger — Andros  Governor — his 
Illegal  Measures,  178.  Charter  of  Rhode  Island  taken  away — Andros 
at  Hartford,  179.  Andros  in  Jail ;  the  Charters  resumed,  180.  The 
Men  of  influence,  181. 


« 


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*>  *  '  ,*• 

Viii  CONTENTS. 

•*'  •; 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

COMMOTION   IN  NEW   YORK — WITCHCRAFT   IN   MASSACHUSETTS. 

Leisler  acting  Governor  of  New  York,  182.     The  Old  Council  refuses  to 
yield — Sloughter  Governor,  lire.     Trial  and  Execution  of  Leisler  and 

*  Melbourne,  184.    Benjamin  Fletcher,  Governor ;  his  failure  at  Hartford,     - 

*  185.     Yale  College,  186.     The  Triumph  of  a  Free  Press,  187.     Witch- 
craft; belief  in,  188.     Cotton  Mather,  189.     Various  Persons  accused 
at  Salem,  190.     Stoughton  as  Judge,  and  Parris  as  Accuser,  191. 
Minister  Burroughs,  192.     Calefs  Pamphlet,  193.     Mather's  stand  in 
favor  of  Inoculation,  194. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

MISSIONS  AND  SETTLEMENTS   IN  NEW  FRANCE 

The  Emigrants,  196.     The  Jesuits;  their  zeal  as  Teachers  and  Explorers, 

,    197.     The  Chief  Ahasistari,  198.      The  Five  Nations,  or  Iroquois,  199. 

:  Father  Jogues,  200.     The  Abenakis ;  Dreuilettes,  201.     French  Settlers 

at  Oswego— Father  Allouez,  202.     James  Marquette — The  Mississippi, 

203.     LaSaUe,204.    His  Enterprise  ;  his  Failure  and  Tragical  End,  206. 

[&' 

CHAPTER  XX. 

.     *m.  *  4 

MARAUDING  EXPEDITIONS;    SETTLEMENT   OF   LOUISIANA;    CAPTURE   OF 
LOUISBURG. 


Mohawks  hostie  to  the  French,  208.  Dover  attacked  ;  Major  Waldron,  209. 
Schenectady  burned  —  the  inhuman  Frontenac,  210.  The  Colonists  act 
for  themselves  —  Invasion  of  Canada,  211.  Heroism  of  Hannah  Dustiiw 
212.  Deerfield  taken;  Eunice  Williams,  213.  D'Ibberville  plants  a 
Colony  on  the  Pascagoula,  215.  Trading  Posts  on  the  Illinois  and  the 
Mississippi,  216.  The  Choctaws,  217.  Destruction  of  the  Natchez,  218. 
Attempts  to  subdue  the  Chickasaws,  219.  King  George's  War  ;  Capture 
of  Louisburg,  220.  The  English  Ministry  alarmed,  222.  Jonathan 

•?      Edwards—  The  "  Great  Revival,"  223.     Princeton  College,  224. 

•         V  * 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

-  -  j* 

FRENCH   AND  INDIAN   WAR. 

The  Valley  of  the  Ohio—  French  and  English  Claimants,  225.  Gist,  the 
Pioneer,  226.  George  Washington,  227.  His  Character  —  His  Mission 
to  the  French  on  the  Alleghany,  229.  -St.  Pierre's  Letter  unsatisfac- 
tory, 231.  Fort  du  Quesne  built  —  Washington  sent  to  defend  the 

^P  Frontiers,  232.  The  first  Conflict  of  the  War  —  Fort  Necessity,  233. 
British  Troops  arrive  in  America,  234.  Plan  of  Operations  —  General 
Braddock,  235.  The  Ariny  on  the  March  —  Captain  Jack,  236.  The 
Battle  of  Monongahela,  238.  Death  and  Burial  of  Braddock,  240. 
Dunbar's  Panic  —  The  Effects  of  these  Events,  241. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

m 

FRENCH  AND   INDIAN   WAR  —  CO 


f  %'  '          w    *      4fc» 

NTINUED.  9 


The  French  Acadiens — Their  Industry  and    good    Morals,  248.      Their 
Mournful  Exile,   246.     Expedition  against  Crown  Point,   248.    The 

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CONTENTS. 


English  defeated — Death  of  Colonel  Williams,  249.      Repulse  of 
French — Death  of  Dieskau — Williams  College,  250.     Kittaning  destroy- 
ed, 251.     Moutcahn  acts  with  Energy,  253.     Fort  William  Henry  taken, 
254.     Canada  Exhausted,  255. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR — CONTINUED. 


William  Pitt,  Prime  Minister,  256.  Lord  Amherst— Plan  of  Operations— 
Louisburg  captured,  257.  English  repulsed — Fort  Frontenac  captured, 
258.  Washington  takes  Possession  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  259.  Pitts- 
burg^  260.  The  French  abandon  Ticonderoga,  261.  Wolfe  before 
Quebec,  262.  The  Battle  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  264.  Deaths  of 
Wolf  and  Montcalm — their  Memories,  265.  Quebec*  Capitulates — 
Cherokee  War,  266.  Destruction  of  their  Crops  and  Villages,  268. 
Pontiac,  269.  Desolations  along  the  Frontiers,  270.  General  Bouquet, 
27  L  Pontiac's  Death,  272. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

*» 

CHARACTERISTICS   OP  THE   COLONISTS.' 

Religious  Influences  among  the  early  Settlers,  273.  Love  of  domestic  Life, 
*  274.  Laws  enjoining  Morality,  275.  Systems  of  Education ;  Common 
Schools,  276.  Free  Inquiry  and  Civil  Liberty, 277.  John  Calvin — The 
Anglo-Saxon  Element ;  the  Norman,  278.  The  Southerner ;  the 
Northerner — lufluences  in  Pennsylvania,  279.  In  New  York — Diver- 
sity of  Ancestry,  280. 

«r  * 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

CAUSES  THAT  LED  TO  THE  REVOLUTION. 

Restrictions  of  Trade  and  Manufactures — Taxes  imposed  by  Parliament, 
282.  Writs  of  Assistance,  283.  James  Otis — Samuel  Adams,  284. 
The  "Parsons'"  Case  in  Virginia — Patrick  Henry,  285.  Colonel 
Barre's  Speech — The  Stamp  Act,  287.  Excitement  in  the  Colonies — 
Resolutions  not  to  use  Stamps,  289.  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  290.  A  Call 
for  a  Congress ;  it  Meets,  291.  Self-denial  of  the  Colonists — Pitt  de- 
fends them,  292.  Stamp  Act  repealed — Rejoicings,  293.  Dartmouth 
College,  294. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

A    4.* 

CAUSES  THAT  LED  TO  THE  REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 

The  English  Ministry  determine  to  obtain  a  Revenue,  295.  Massachuse 
invites  to  harmonious  Action,  296.  The  Sloop  Liberty — A  British 
Regiment  at  Boston,  297.  Collision  with  the  Citizens — Articles  of  As- 
sociation proposed  by  Washington,  298.  Tax  upon  Tea,  299.  The 
Gaspe  captured,  300.  The  Resolutions  not  to  receive  the  Tea,  301. 
Tea  thrown  into  Boston  Harbor — Its  Reception  at  other  Places,  303. 
Boston  Port  Bill — Aid  sent  to  Boston,  304.  Gage's  Difficulties,  305. 
Alexander  Hamilton,  306.  The  Old  Continental  Congress — The  first 
Prayer,  307.  The  Papers  issued  by  the  Congress,  309.  Views  of  Pitt 
in  relation  to  them,  310. 

'i  * 


• 


*., 


* 

CONTENTS. 


•*f  *  *  ^  .  .  « 

CHAPTER  XXVII.$ 

The  Spirit  of  the  people,  311.     They  seize  Guns  and  Ammunition,  3lf.<| 
The  Massachusetts  Provincial  Congress;  its  Measures,  313.     The  Re-  m 
V  straining  Bill,  314.     Conflicts  at  Lexington  and  Concord,  315.     Vol. 
unteers   fly  to   Arms,    and   beleaguer    Boston — Stark — Putnam,   317. 
Benedict  Arnold — Ethan  Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  318- 
Capture  of  Ticonderoga,  319.     Lord  Dunmore.  in  Virginia,—- Henry  and 
the  Independent  Companies,  320.     The  News  from  Lexington  rouses  a 
Spirit  of  Resistance,  321.     The  Second  Continental  Congress,  323.     Its 
Measures,  324.     Adopts  the  Army  before  Boston,  and  appoints  Wash- 
ington Commander-in-Chief,  325. 

* 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE   WAR   OP  THE   REVOLUTION. 

Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  328.  Death  of  Warren— Generals  Charles  Lee  and 
Philip  Schuyler,  333.  State  of  Affairs  in  New  York — Sir  William 
Johnson,  334,  Condition  of  the  Army,  335.  Nathaniel  Greene — 
Morgan  and  his  Riflemen,  336.  Wants  of  the  Army,  337.  Expedition 
against  Canada,  338.  Richard  Montgomery — Allen's  rash  Adventure, 
339."'-  Montreal  captured — Arnold's  toilsome  Marcb^  to  Quebec,  340. 
That  Place  besieged,  341.  Failure  to  Storm  the  Town — Death  of 
Montgomery,  342.  Arnold  in  his  Icy  Fortress,  343. 
!•? 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Jl      WAR   OP  THE   REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 

Meeting  of  Congress — Alarming  Evils,  344.  Portland  burned — Efforts  to 
defend  the  Coast,  345.  Parliament  resolves  to  crush  the  Rebels,  346. 
Henry  Knox,  347.  Difficulties  in  the  Army — Provincial  Prejudices, 
848.  Success  of  the  Privateers — British  Theatricals — The  Union  Flag, 
349.  Affairs  in  New  York — Rivington's  Gazette,  350.  Governor 
Tryon — General  Lee  in  the  City,  351.  Dunmore's  Measures — Norfolk 
burned,  352.  Defeat  of  North  Carolina  Tories,  353.  Cannon  and 
Powder  obtained,  355.  Dorchester  Heights  fortified — Boston  evacuat- 
ed, 356.  Washington  in  New  York,  357.  Numerous  Disasters — Re- 
treat from  Canada,  359.  Horatio  Gates,  360.  A  British  Fleet  before 
Fort  Moultrie,  361.  Gloomy  Prospects,  362. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

WAR   0*  THE   REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 


The  Question  of  Independence ;  Influences  in  favor  of,  364.     The  Tories — 
Common  Sense,  366.     The  Declaration ;  its  Reception  by  the  People 
and  Army,  368.     Arrival  of  Admiral  HOAVC,  369.     His  Overtures  for 
Reconciliation,  370.     The  American  Army ;  its  Composition,  SectJimal 
Jealousies,  371.     The  Clintons,  372.     Battle  of  Long  Island,  373.     The 
-  Masterly  Retreat,   376.     Incidents,  377.     Howe  confers  with*a  Com-    £*    • 
mittee  of  Congress,  378.     Nathan  Hale,  37^,    The  British  at  Kipp's  "*>•*! 
Bay,  380.     New  York  evacuated,  381.     Conflict  at  White  Plains,  382. 
Loss  of  Fort  Washington,   384.     Retreat  across  New  Jersey,   385. 
Waywardness  of  Lee,  386.  ^    • 


- 


*  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


WAR   OF   THE    REVOLUTION — CONTINUED.       t 

Discouragements — Howe's  Proclamation,  387.     Affairs  on  Lake  Champ 
388.      Heroism   of  Arnold,    389.      Capture   of  Lee,    390.     Battle 
Trenton,    392.      Battle  of  Princeton,    398.     Death"   of  Mercer,    39$K 
Washington   returns  to  Morristown,  400..   Cornwallis  in  his  lines  at 
Brunswick,  401.     Putnam  at  Princeton,  402.     Ill  treatment  of  Ameri- 
can  Prisoners,    403.     Appointment  of   General  Officers,  Muhlenburg, 
Wayne,  C.onway — Medical  Department,   404.      The  Navy,  405.     Ex- 
peditions— Peekskill — Danbury,  406.    Death  of  Wooster — Retaliation  at 
Sag  Harbor,  407.     Schuyler  and  Gates,  408.     The  National  Flag,  409. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

WAR    OF   THE    REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 

The  Struggle  excites  an  Interest  in  England  and  France,  410.  Privateers 
fitted  out  in  France,  411.  Munitions  of  War,  412..  Howe's  Manoeu- 
vres, 413.  Burgoyne  on  his  Way  from  Canada,  414.  Ticonderoga 
captured,  415.  St.  Clair's  Retreat,  416.  Capture  of  General  Prescott 
— The,  secret  Expedition — The  American  Army  at  Germantown,  417. 
Lafayette,  418.  Pulaski  and  Kosciusko,  419.  Aid  sent  to  Schuyler — 
Howe  lands  at  Elkton,  420.  Battle  of  Brandywine,  421.  Possession 
taken  of  Philadelphia — Battle  of  Germantown,  424.  Hessians  repulsed 
at  Fort  Mercer,  426.  Winter  Quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  427. 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION— -CONTINUED. 

Invasion  from  Canada— Appointment  of  General  Gates,  428.  Jenny 
McCrea,  429.  St.  Leger  besieges  Fort  Stanwix,  430.  The  Attempt 
to  relieve  it,  431.  Battle  of  Bennington,  432.  Change  of  Prospects, 
433.  Battle  of  Behmus's  Heights,  434.  Ticonderoga  besieged,  435. 
Burgoyne  surrenders  his  Army  at  Saratoga,  436.  The  Prisoners — 
Capture  of  Forts  on  the  Hudson,  438.  Schuyler,  439. 

*TP  4 


;•-*;••' 
•£> 


« 


i£j 


CHAPTER    XXXIY. 


WAR   OF   THE    REVOLUTION — CONTINUED 

Sufferings  at  Valley  Forge,  440.  England  disappointed — Conciliatory  Meas- 
ures of  Parliament,  441.  The  War  presses  hard  upon  the  American 
People,  442.  Difficulties  in  Congress,  443.  The  "Conway  Cabal," 
444.  Baron  Steuben,  446.  Attempt  to  increase  the  Army,  447 
Exchange  of  Lee;  his  Treason,  448.  Treaty  with  France — British 
Commissioners,  449.  Battle  of  Monmouth,  450.  Misconduct  of  Lee, 
451.  His  death,  452.  Combined  attack  upon  Newport  fails,  453. 
Massacre  at  Wyoming — at  Cherry  Valley,  454.  Invasion  of  Georgia, 
450. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


WAR   OF  THE    REVOLUTION  —  CONTINUED. 


> 

Dissensions  in  Congress,  457.     Expedition  against  the  Indians,  458.     The 
War  in  the  South,  459.     Marauding  Expeditions  $ent  to  Virginia,  and 


. 


•  1  r.  ''  '#      ^  •    * 

Xli  &  CONTENTS.^ 

up  the  -Hudson — Tryon  ravages  Connecticut,  460.     Wayne  captures 
Stony  Point,  461.     Lee  surprises  the  Garrison  at  Jersey  City — Cont 
bined    assault   upon    Savannah,    462.     Daniel   Boone,   463.     Georgf  ** 
J1jjffloger8  Clfce;   Kaskaskia— Pioneers  of  Tennessee;  Nashville,   464.. 
*  John  Paul  Jones,  4(55. 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

WAR   OP  THE   REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 

Hardships  of  the  Soldiers,  466.  British  Success  at  the  South,  467.  Colo- 
nel Tarleton,  468.  Charleston  capitulates— Defeat  at  Waxhaws,  469. 
Rev.  James  Caldwell,  470.  Maraud  into  Jersey,  471.  French  Fleet  at 
Newport— The  Partisan  Leaders  in  the  South,  472.  Gates  in  Com- 
mand— Disastrbus  Battle  of  Camden,  474.  Death  of  De  Kalb,  475. 
Sumter's  Success  and  Defeat,  476.  The  Treason  of  Arnold— Major 
Andre,  477.  Movements  of  Cornwallis,  479.  Colonel  Ferguson — The 
Battle  of  King's  Mountain,  480.  Tarleton  repulsed,  482.  Greene  in 
Command — British  triumphant  in  the  South — Affairs  in  Europe,  483. 
Henry  Laurens — Dangers  of  England ;  her  Energy,  484. 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

WAR   OK   THE   REVOLUTION CONTINUED. 

L-  .Afe.  ~*  • 

The  Spirit  of  Revolt  among  the  Soldiers,  486.     Arnold  ravages  the  Shores 
of  the  Chesapeake,  488.     Battle  of  the  Cowpens,  489.     Morgan  re- 
treats; Cornwallis  pursues,  491.     Greene  marches  South — Lee  scatters 
the  Tories,  493.     Battle  of  Guildford  Court  House,  494.     Conflict  at 
Hobkirk's  Hill,  495.     The  Execution  of  Hayne,  496.     Battle  of  Eutaw 
Springs,  497.     Plans  to  capture  New  York,  498.     Wayne's  Daring  at 
Barnes  River,  499.     National  Finances — Robert  Morris,  500.     Clinton 
deceived — Combined  Armies  beyond  the  Delaware,  501.     French  Fleet 
in  the  Chesapeake,  502.     New  London  burned  by  Arnold,  503.     The 
jjj^  j^ttack,  504.     Cornwallis  Surrenders,  505.     Thanksgivings,  506. 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

"jLfk^KJLOSING-   EVENTS   OP   THE   WAR — FORMATION   OP   THE   CONSTITUTION. 

British  Efforts  Paralyzed,  508.  The  States  form  Independent  Govern- 
ments— Indian  Wars,  509.  Massacre  of  the  Christian  Delawares — Bat- 
tle of  the  Blue  Lick,  510.  Lord  North — Commissioners  of  Peace,  511. 
,||Peace  concluded — Dissatisfaction  in  the  American  Army,  512.  The 
"Anonymous  Address,"  513.  British  Prisoners ;  the  Tories,  514.  Dis- 
bandment  of  the  Army — Washington  takes  leave  of  his  Officers,  515. 
Resigns  his  Commission,  516.  Shay's  Rebellion,  518.  Interests  of  the 
States  clash,  519.  The  Constitutional  Convention,  520.  The  Consti- 
tution— its  Ratification,  521.  The  Territory  North-west  of  the  Ohio, 
522.  Ecclesiastical  Organizations,  523. 

ft  CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Reception  and  Inauguration  of  the  President,  528.     An  Era  in  human       ' 
.    Progress,  529.     The  Departments  of  State  organized,  530.     Hamil- 
<,  ton's  Financial  Report,  531.     Congress  Assumes  the  Debts  of  the  Na- 
tion— National  Bank,  532.   Commercial  Enterprise — Manufactures  533. 
Indian   War,  534.     St.  Clair  defeated,  535.     Wayne   defeats  the   In- 

^**. 

*  V  4* 

Jf.*'-  i  *:..*. 


'   *•' 

•  mS^it 
, 

CONTENTS.  Xiii 

dians,  536.     PoliticafcParties — Jefferson,  537.     The  French  Revolution, 


538.     Genet  arrives  as  French  Minister — Neutrality  proclaimed  by  the 
President — Democratic  Societies,  5o9.     The  Partisans  of  France — Re- 


,  — re- 
call of  Genet,  540.     The  first  Settlers  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  541. 

,  543. 
A  Treaty  concluded,  544.    Other  Treaties,  545.    Washington's  Farewell 


The  Whiskey  Insurrection,  542.     Special  Mission  to  Great  Britain 
A  Treaty  con  " 
Address,  546. 


CHAPTER    XL. 


JOHN  ADAMS'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


'* 

Serious  Aspect  of  Relations  with  France,  547.     Commissioners  of  Peace, 
548.    The  French   Cruisers,  549.     The  Alien  Act— War  impending, 
550.     Washington  Commander-in-Chief — Capture  of  the  Frigate  L'ln-  - 
surgente,  551.     Peace  concluded — Death  of  Washington,  552.     Eulo-  • 

giums  on  his  Character,  553.     The  city  of  Washington  becomes  the 
Seat  of  Government,  554. 

•T 


__  SI 

CHAPTER    XLI. 

JEFFERSON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


fv,    ««• 

The  President's  Inaugural,  555.  Purchase  of  Louisiana,  556.  Pirates  in 
the  Mediterranean,  557.  Burning  of  the  Philadelphia,  558.  Tripoli 
Bombarded,  559.  Death  of  Hamilton,  5(30.  Aaron  Burr,  561.  Oppo- 
sition to  the  Navy — Gunboats,  662.  The  Rights  of  Neutrals — The  un- 
just Decrees  issued  by  England  and  France,  563.  Impressment  of 
American  Seamen,  564.  Treaty  with  England  rejected  by  the  Presi- 
dent—Affair of  the  Chesapeake,  566.  The  Embargo ;  its"  effect,  568. 
Manufactures,  569.  The  Embargo  repealed,  570. 

•^* 

CHAPTER    XLII. 

MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Condition  of  the  Country — Erskine's  Negotiations,  571.  Depredations  upon 
American  Commerce — The  Rambouillet  Decree,  573.  Affair  of  the 
Little  Belt,  574.  The  Census — Indian  Troubles — Tecumseh  and  the 
Prophet,  575.  Battle  of  Tippecanoe,  577.  The  two  Parties — The 
Twelfth  Congress — Henry  Clay — John  C.  Calhoun,  578.  Threatening 
Aspect  of  Foreign  Relations,  579.  Debates  in  Congress — John  Ran- 
dolph, 580.  Another  Embargo,  583.  War  declared  against  Great 
Britain,  584.  The  Academy  at  West  Point,  585.  Riots  at  Baltimore, 
586.  Operations  in  the  North-west,  587.  Surrender  of  Hull,  588. 
Impressment  of  American  Seamen,  588.  American  Ships  in  English 
Ports,  589.  Failures  to  invade  Canada,  590. 

CHAPTER    XLIII. 

MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION — CONTINUED. 


& 


Vessels  of  the  Navy,  593.     The  chase  of  the  Constitution  —  Capture  of  the 
Alert,    594.     The    Guerrierc  —  Incidents,    595.     The  Macedonian  —  The 
—  in  the 

d- 
r- 
aJK^fi 


Alert,  594.  e  uerrerc  —  ncents,  595.  e  acedonan  —  e 
Frolic—  The  Java,  596.  The  effects  of  these  Naval  Conflicts  in  the 
United  States  and  England,  597.  Plan  of  Operations  —  Harrison  ad- 


vances on  Detroit,  599.     General  Winchester  a  Prisoner;  Indian  Ba 
barities— The  Kentuckians  fall  into  an  Ambuscade,  600.     Repulse 


'**%  <fci 


*  «< 


NTENTS. 


xiv  co 

^T     *  v  /If- 

Fort  Stepbenson— The  loss  of  the  Chesapeake,  601.  Perry's  Victory, 
602.  Battle  of  the  Thames— Andrew  Jackson,  G03.  Leads  an  Expe- 
dition; its  Termination,  605.  York  captured;  Death  of  General  like, 
f.oti  Failures,  607.  Newark  burned;  the  severe  Retaliation,  608. 
F  Ravages  on  Shores  of  the  Chesapeake— Indian  War  in  the  South,  609. 
Jackson  and  others  in  the  Field— Battle  of  the  Great  Horse  Shoe,  610. 
Captain  Porter's  Cruise,  611. 

^\       m1  t£     * 

CHAPTER    XLIY. 

MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION — CONTINUED. 

The  Thirteenth  Congress;  its  Members— Daniel  Webster,  613.  ^  Manifesto 
of  the  British  Government,  614.  Embarrassments — Commissioners  of 
Peace,  615.  Jacob  Brown— Winfield  Scott— Wilkinson  unsuccessful, 
617.  Battle  of  Lundy's  Lane,  618.  Battle  on  Lake  Champlauy  621. 
The  British  on  the  Shores  of  the  Chesapeake,  623.  Bladensburg,  625. 
Capture  of  Washington — Public  Buildings  burned^  626.  Defence  of 
Fort  McHenry — Death  of  General  Ross,  627.  Bombardment  of  Stoo- 
ington — Distress  in  New  England,  628.  Debates  in  Congress,  629. 
Hartford  Convention,  630. 

CHAPTER    XLV. 

MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION — CONCLUDED. 


Jackson  enters  Pensaefola,  633.  New  Orleans  defenceless — The  British 
land,  634.  Jackson's  Measures  of  Defence,  635. '  Battle  of  New  Or- 
leans, 636.  The  Distress  of  the  Country — The  Relief,  638.  Treaty  of 
Peace,  639.  Frigate  President  captured,  640.  War  with  Algiers,  641. 
Treaty  with  the  Indians — National  Bank — State  of  Indiana,  642.  John 
*  Fitch— Robert  Fulton — First  Steamboat,  643. 

.   ,     CHAPTER    XLVI. 

MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

A  Return  to  the  earlier  Policy  of  the  Government,  644.  The  President's 
Tour  in  the  Eastern  States — The  Colonization  Society,  645.  Revolu- 
tions in  jthe  Spanish  Colonies — Indian  War,  646.  General  Jackson  in 
the  Field— Purchase  of  Florida,  647.  The  Missouri  Compromise,  648. 
The  Monroe  Doctrine — Financial  Distress,  652.  Increase  of  Tariff — 
Visit  of  Lafayette,  653. 

CHAPTER    XLVII. 

,%,.    j&fae 


_.__.CY  ADAMS    ADMINISTRATION. 

Manufactures  and  Internal  Improvements,  655.     Indian  Lands  in  Geor- 
gia,  656.     Death  of  the   ex-Presidents   Thomas  Jefferson   and  John 
Adams,  657.     Fre"e  Masonry — Protection  to  American  Industry,  658. 
Debates  in  Congress- — Presidential  Contest,  660. 
'  9      .      j&   -  • 

%      m.  •  '  **'' 

CHAPTER    XLVIII. 

JACKSON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Appointments  to  Office,  661.     Removal  of  the  Indians  from  Georgia,  662. 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  663.     Hayne  and  Webster's  Debate— Nulli- 

*     "*    *   *€* 
* 

i» 

I 


Mv  ** 


*•*  * 

>  4- 

*'•*? 

ENTS.  XV 


fication,  G64.  The  Compromise  Bill  ;  its  final  Passage,  667.  Removlu 
of  the  Deposits,  668.  Effect  upon  the  Country — Indian  Wars,  669. 
Osceola — Dearth  of  Judge  Marshall,  670.  Indemnity  for  French  Spolia- 
tions, 671. 

CHAPTER    XLIX.       4fc 

VAN  BUREN'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

*  , 

Apparent  Prosperity,  673.  The  Specie  Circular — Distribution  of  the  Sur- 
plus Funds — Speculation,  674.  The  Sub-Treasury,  675.  State  Indebt- 
edness, 676. 

•       V 

CHAPTER    L. 

•  ''  ib  ''  '      J^* 

HARRISON   AND   TYLER'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

The  Inauguration,  677.  Death  of  Harrison  ;  Tyler  President,  678.  Bank- 
rupt Law — The  Bank  Charters;  their  Vetoes,  679.  Proposition  to 
treat  with  Great  Britain — Insurrection  in  Canada — The  Caroline,  680. 
Trial  of  McLeod,  681.  Boundary  Disputes  in  Maine — Treaty  of  Wash- 
ington, 682.  Questions  of  Visit  and  Impressment,  683.  Exploring 
Expedition,  684.  Texas  Colonization ;  Struggles,  685.  Siege  of  the 
Alamo,  686.  Davy  Crockett — Goliad,  Siege  of — Massacre  of  Prisoners, 
687.  Battle  of  San  Jacinto,  688.  Houston  President — Question  of 
Annexation  in  Congress,  689.  Texas  Annexed — Disturbances  in  Rhode 
Island,  691.  Iowa  and  Florida  become  States,  692. 

<* 
CHAPTER    LL 


POLK  S   ADMINISTRATION. 

Difficulties  with  Mexico,    694.      General  Taylor  at   Corpus   Christi,    695. 
Oregon  Territory  ;  respective  Claims  to,  696.     Settlement  of  Boundary, 

698.  Taylor  marches  to  the  Rio  Grande  —  Thornton's  Party  surprised, 

699.  Attack  on  Fort  Brown,  700.     Battle  of  Palo  Alto,  701.     Battle 
of  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  702.     Matamoras  occupied  —  Measures  of  Con- 
gress,  704.     The   Volunteers  —  Plan   of  Operations  —  Mexico   declares 
War,  705.     Capture  of  Monterey,  707. 

CHAPTER    LII. 

FOLK'S   ADMINISTRATION  —  CONTINUED. 

.jtt*     IL      V  % 

Ihe  President  hopes  for  Peace  —  Santa  Anna,  710.    Hostilities  to  be  renewed, 

712.  Troops  withdrawn  from  General  Taylor  —  Volunteers  arrive  at 
Monterey,  713.  Santa  Anna's  Plans  and  Preparations,  714.  Taylor 
advances  to  Agua  Kueva,  715.  Battle  of  Buena  Vista,  716.  The  Mex- 
ican Chiefs  Urrea  and  Romero. 

CHAPTER    Mil 


FOLK'S   ADMINISTRATION — CONTINUED. 


Emigration  to  Oregon,  782.  John  C.  Fremont;  his  Explorations,  733. 
Difficulties  with  the  Mexican  Governor,  735.  American  Settlers  in 
alarm,  736.  California  free — Monterey  on  the  Pacific  captured,  737. 
— Commodores  Sloat  and  Stockton— Expedition  of  Kearney,  738. 
Santa  Fe  taken ;  a  Government  organized,  739.  Doniphan's  Expedi' 


*  A  ^AV*  T» 

•%  ¥' 

CONTENTS. 

•    •-.  • 

tion,  740.     El  Paso  taken,  742.     Chihuahua  ^pccupied,  743.     An  Insur- 
rection ;  its  Suppression,  744.     Trial  of  Fremont,  745. 

CHAPTER    LIV. 

FOLK'S   ADMINISTRATION — CONCLUDED. 

of  Troops,  746.  Yera  Cruz  invested,  747.  Its  Bombardment  and 
_  Mation,  748.  Santa  Anna's  Energy,  749.  Battle  of  Cerro  Gordo, 
755.  General  Scott  at  Puebla — His  Misunderstandings  with  the  Au- 
thorities at  Washington,  751.  N.  P.  Trist,  Commissioner,  752.  Dis- 
sensions in  Mexico,  754.  Scott's  Manifesto,  755.  Advance  upon  the 
Capital,  756.  Battle  of  Contreras,  757.  Of  Churubusco,  758.  At- 
tempts to  obtain  Peace,  760.  Conflict  of  Molino  del  Rey,  761.  The 
Wf  Castle  of  Chapultepec  captured,  762.  The  American  Army  enters  the 
City,  763.  Santa  Anna  again  in  the  Field,  764.  Treaty  of  Peace,  765. 
Misunderstandings  among  the  American  Officers,  766.  Conditions  of  the 
Peace— Discovery  of  Gold  in  California,  767.  The  Effects— Death 
of  John  Quincy  Adams,  768.  Wilmot  Proviso,  769.  The  Presidential 
Election— Death  of  Mr.  Polk,  770. 

M*   ,  JL-.  r  *  ..'  / 

CHAPTER    LV.  •* 

'          "i  '  T*1        *'  fll<9v      »  "    •<* 

TAYLOR  AND   FILLMORE  S   ADMINISTRATION. 

Discussion  on  Slavery — Wilmot  Proviso,  772.  The  Powers  of  the  Constitu- 
tion; their  Application  in  the  Territories,  774.  The  President's  Mes 
sage ;  its  Recommendations,  776.  Debate  on  the  Omnibus  Bill,  777. 
Death  of  Calhoun — Death  of  President  Taylor — Fillmore  Inaugurated, 
778.  The  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  779.  The  Mormons  ;  their  Origin, 
780.  Troubles— Settlement  in  Utah,  781.  A  Disunion  Convention,  781. 
Lopez  invades  Cuba,  782.  Search  for  Sir  John  Franklin — Dr.  E.  K. 
Kane,  783.  Death  of  Henry  Clay;  of  Daniel  Webster,  784.  The 
Tripartite  Treaty,  784. 

CHAPTER    LYI. 

PIERCE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

.  »  ;  Purchase  of  |he  Mesilla  Valley,  786.     Treaty  with  Japan,  787.     The  Kan- 
sas-Nebraska Bill;  the  effects  of  the  Measure,    788.      Emigrants  to 
Kansas,  789.     Struggles    and  Conflicts,  790.     James  Buchanan,  Presi- 
dent, 792.     The  Contest  continues  in  Kansas,  793.     National   Prog- 
795. 


K  ^  **  •*& 

•>  •' 


"/* 


• 


* 


HISTOKY 

n 

i 

OP   THE 

UNITED     STATES. 
••«*  ... 


CHAPTEK    I. 

COLUMBUS. 


V* 


His  Discoveries,  Misfortunes,  and  Death. — Amerigo  Vespucci,  and  the  name 

America. 

FOR  nearly  fifteen  hundred  years  after  the  birth  of  our   CHAP. 

Saviour,  the  great  Western  Continent  was  unknown  to 

the  inhabitants  of  the  Old  World.  1492. 

The  people  of  Europe  had  looked  upon  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  as  a  boundless  expanse  of  water,  surrounding  the 
land  and  stretching  far  away  they  knew  not  whither. 
This  vast  unknown,  their  imaginations  had  peopled  with 
all  sorts  of  terrible  monsters,  ever  ready  to  devour  those 
who  should  rashly  venture  among  them.  But  the  cloud 
of  mystery  and  superstition  that  hung  over  this  world  of 
waters  was  now  to  be  dispelled — a  spirit  of  discovery  was 
awakened  in  Europe. 

The  Azores  and  Madeira  Isles  were  already  known. 
Mariners,  driven  out  by  adverse  winds,  had  discovered 
them.  Tradition  told  of  islands  still  farther  west,  but  as 
yet  no  one  had  gone  in  search  of  them.  The  attention  of 
the  people  of  maritime  Europe  was  turned  in  the  opposite 
direction  ;  they  wished  to  find  a  passage  by  water  to  the 
eastern  coasts  of  Asia.  The  stories  told  by  those  early 
1 


;% 


J*  VJ 

HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


CHAP,   travellers,   Sir  John  Mandeville  and  Marco    Polo,    had 
'      fired  their  imaginations  ;  they  believed  that  among  those 

1492.    distant  regions  of  which  they  wjote,  so  abundant  in  pre- 
cious   stones,    diamonds,   and    gold,   was-  the   veritable 
$  land  of  Ophir  itself.     Their  intense  desire  to  obtain  the 
^  J|   treasures  of  India,  led  to  a  result  most  important  in  the 
world's  history — a  result  little  anticipated,  but  which  was 
to  have  a  never-ending  influence  upon  the  destinies  of 
\  V     the  human  family — the  discovery  of  America. 

As  &od  had  ordered,  there  appeared  at  this  time  a 
remarkable  man  ;  a  man  whose  perseverance,  no  less  than 
his  genius,  commands  our  respect.  He  was  a  native  of 
Genoa,  one  of  the  great  commercial  cities  of  Italy.  He 
had  been  from  his  childhood  familiar  with  the*  sea,  and 
had  visited  the  most  distant  portions  of  the  world  then 
known.  His  time  and  talents  were  devoted  to  the  study 
of  navigation,  geography,  and  astronomy.  He  began  to 
astonish  his  countrymen  with  strange  notions  about  the 
world.  He  boldly  asserted  that  it  was  round,  instead  of 
flat ;  that  it  went  around  the  sun  instead  of  the  sun  going 
around  it ;  and  moreover,  that  day  and  night  were  caused 
by  its  revolution  on  its  axis.*  These  doctrines  the  priests 
denounced  as  contrary  to  those  of  the  church.  He  could 

f^  not  convince  these  learned  gentlemen  by  his  arguments, 
neither  could  they  silence  him  by  their  ridicule.  When 
he  ventured  to  assert  that  by  sailing  west,  he  could  reach 
the  East  Indies,  these  philosophers  questioned  not  only 
the  soundness  of  his  theory,  but  that  of  his  intellect.  For 
years  he  labored  to  obtain  the  means  to  explore  the  great 
western  ocean,  to  prove  that  it  was  the  pathway  to  the 
coveted  treasures  of  the  East.  This  remarkable  man  was 
Christopher  Columbus. 

He  applied  first  to  John  the  Second,  king  of  Portugal, 
to  aid  him  in  his  enterprise,  but  without  success  ;  he  then 
applied  to  Henry  the  Seventh,  king  of  England,  with  a, 
similar  result.  After  years  of  delay  and  disappointment, 

•KT^  \  ¥ 


ft 


COLUMBUS    SAILS    FROM   PALOS. 


his  project  having  been  twice  rejected  by  the  Spanish 
court,  and  he  himself  branded  as  a  wild  enthusiast,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  enlisting  in  its  favor  the  benevolent  Isabella, 
Queen  of  Spain.  She  offered  to  pledge  her  private  jewels 
to  obtain  means  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  expedition. 
Thus  the  blessings,  which  have  accrued  to  the  world  from 
the  discovery  of  America,  may  be  traced  to  the  beneficence 
of  one  of  the  noblest  of  women. 

A  little  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
on  Friday,  the  3d  of  August,  1492,  Columbus  sailed  from 
the  little  port  of  Palos,  in  Spain. 

He  confidently  launched  forth  upon  the  unknown  ocean. 
His  three  little  vessels  were  mere  sail-boats  compared 
with  the  magnificent  ships  that  now  pass  over  the  same 
waters.  He  sailed  on  and  on,  day  after  day,  and  at  length 
came  within  the  influence  of  the  trade  winds,  which  with- 
out intermission  urged  his  vessels  toward  the  west.  The 
sailors  began  to  fear— if  these  winds  continued,  they  never 
could  return.  They  noticed  the  variation  of  the  compass  ; 
it  no  longer  pointed  to  the  pole, — was  this  mysterious,  but 
hitherto  trusty  friend,  about  to  fail  them  ? 

Ten  weeks  had  already  elapsed,  and  the  winds  were  still 
bearing  them  farther  and  farther  from  their  homes.  It  is 
true,  there  were  many  indications  that  land  was  near ;  land 
birds  were  seen  ;  land  weeds,  a  bush  with  fresh  berries 
upon  it,  and  a  cane  curiously  carved,  were  found  floating  in 
the  water.  Again  and  again,  from  those  on  the  watch, 
was  heard  the  cry  of  land,  but  as  often  the  morning  sun 
dispelled  the  illusion  ;  they  had  been  deceived  by  the 
evening  clouds  that  fringed  the  western  horizon.  Now, 
the  sailors  terror-stricken,  became  mutinous,  and  clamored 
to  return.  They  thought  they  had  sinned  in  venturing  so 
far  from  land,  and  as  a  punishment  were  thus  lured  on  to 
perish  amid  the  dangers  with  which  their  imaginations  had 
filled  the  waste  of  waters. 

Columbus  alone  was  calm  and  hopeful ;  in  the  midst 


•** 


t^\.      «• 


m          ^ 

f   *,     <     ±]2***i^^^ 
*\        +     *£>>  w 

,>4*        '  ifc    . 

/Aat*    -*  J*  i  -ifr 

4        ^  HISTORY   OF  THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.   Of  an  these  difficulties,  he  preserved  the  courage  and  noble 
. self-control  that  so  dignifies  his  character.     His  confidence 


in  the  success  of  his  enterprise,  was  not  the  idle  dream  of 
a  mere  enthusiast  ;  it  was  founded  in  reason,  it  was  based 
on  science.  His  courage  was  the  courage  of  one,  who,  in 
the  earnest  pursuit  of  truth,  loses  sight  of  every  personal 
consideration.  He  asked  only  for  a  little  more  time,  that 
he  might  prove  to  others  the  truth  of  what  he  himself  so 
firmly  believed.  When  lo  !  the  following  night  the  land 


breeze,  fragrant  with  the  perfume  of  flowers,  greeted  them; 


never  was  it  more  grateful  to  the  worn  and  weary  sailor. 
The  ships  were  ordered  to  lie  to,  lest  they  should  run  upon 
rocks.     Suddenly  the  ever  watchful  eye  of  Columbus  saw 
a  light,  a  moving  light!     The  alternations  of  hope  and      *. 
fear,  the  visions  of  fame  and  greatness,  or  the  higher  aspi- 
rations that  may  have  filled  his  soul  on  that  eventful  nighty 
are  more  easily  imagined  than  described. 

The  next  morning,  they  saw  lying  before  them  in  all 
its  luxuriant  beauty  an  island,  called  by  the  natives  Guan- 
ahani,  but  renamed  by  Columbus,  San  Salvador,  or  Holy 
Saviour. 

With  a  portion  of  his  crew  he  landed.  Falling  on 
their  knees,  they  offered  thanksgivings  to  God,  who  had 
crowned  their  labors  with  success. 

Columbus  raised  a  banner,  and  planted  a  cross,  and 
thus  took  formal  possession  of  the  land  in  the  names  of  his 
^overeigns,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  The  awe-stricken 
natives  watched  the  ceremony  from  amid  the  groves  ;  they 
thought  the  white  strangers  were  the  children  of  the  sun, 
their  great  deity.  Alas  !  the  cross  did  not  prove  to  them 
the  emblem  of  peace  and  good-will ! 

Columbus  explored  this  island — one  of  the  Bahama 
group — and  discovered   others,  now  known  as  the  West 
Indies.     Thus  he  spent  three  months  ;  then  taking  with 
him  seven  of  the  natives,  he  sailed  for  home.     On  the  15th 
1493.    of  March  he  arrived  at  Palos.    From  that  port  to  the  court 
f"   *•  v  -  * 


m'* 

>** 


\ 


HIS 


THIRD 


CHAP. 

' 


1193. 


*m     .   -  ***£* 

«•*».»-.  Hfok 

I 
« 

VOYAGE. 

4   "VJ        *  \ 

at  Barcelona,  his  progress  was  a  triumphal  procession.     He 

was  graciously  received  by  the  King  and  Queen,  who 
appointed  him  Viceroy  or  Governor  of  all  the  countries  he 
had  or  should  discover.  They  conferred  upon  him  and  his 
family  titles  of  nobility,  and  permission  to  use  a  coat  of 
arms.  The  day  he  made  his  discovery,  was  the  day  of  his  t  * 
triumph  ;  this  day  was  the  recognition  of  it  by  his  patrons 
and  by  the  world.  His  past  life  had  been  one  of  unremit- 
ting toil  and  hope  deferred ;  but  in  the  future  were  ^  , 
bright  prospects  for  himself  and  his  family.  But  his 
title,  the  object  of  his  honorable  ambition,  proved  the 
occasion  of  all  his  after  sorrows.  The  honors  so  justly 
conferred  upon  him,  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  Spanish 
nobility. 

From  this  time  his  life  was  one  continued  contest  with 
his  enemies.  He  made  more  voyages,  and  more  discoveries 
in  the  West  Indies.  On  his  third  voyage  he  saw  the  main- 
land at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco.  It  seems  never  to  have 
occurred  to  him,  that  a  river  so  large  must  necessarily 
drain  a  vast  territory.  He  supposed  the  lands  he  had  dis- 
covered were  islands  belonging  to  Cathay,  or  Farther  »  +X 
India  ;  from  this  circumstance  the  natives  of  the  New 
World  were  called  Indians.  It  is  more  than  probable 
Columbus  died  without  knowing  that  he  had  found  a 
great  continent. 

After  a  few  years  his  enemies  so  far  prevailed,  that  on 
a  false  accusation  he  was  sent  home  in  chains  from  t 
island  of  Hispaniola.      Isabella,  indignant  at  the  trea 
ment  he  had  received,  ordered  them  to  be  taken  off, 
all  his  rights  and  honors  restored.     Ferdinand  promised 
aid  her  in  rendering  him  justice,  and  in  punishing  his  ene- 
mies ;  but,  double-dealing  and  ungenerous,  he  did  neither. 
To  the  misfortunes  of  Columbus  was  added  the  death  of 
Isabella,  his  kind  and  generous  patroness.     And  now  he 
was  openly  maligned  and  persecuted.     Their  work  was  soon 
done  ;  in  a  short  time  he  died,  worn  out  by  disease  and 


* 


HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


-% 

'T  m.  9 


CHAP. 


"  Into  thy  hands, 


1506. 


i*l 

fe 


disappointment.     His  last  words  were 
0  Lord,  I  commend  my  spirit." 

His  body  was  deposited  in  a  convent  in  Spain.  Fer- 
dinand, it  is  said,  ordered  a  monument  to  his  memory. 
The  justice  he  had  denied  him  in  life  he  was  willing  to 
inscribe  upon  his  tomb, — it  was  to  bear  the  inscription  : 
"  Columbus  has  given  a  world  to  Castile  and  Leon." 

The  body  of  Columbus  was  afterwards  conveyed  to 
ispaniola.  After  a  lapse  of  almost  three  hundred  years 
that  island  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  French.  Gene- 
rations had  come  and  •  gone,  but  the  Spanish  nation  re- 
membered that  Columbus  had  "  given  a  world  to  Castile 
and  Leon  ; "  and  they  wished  to  retain  his  remains  within 
their  own  territories.  They  disinterred  them,  and  with 
imposing  ceremonies  transferred  them  to  Havana  in  the 
island  of  Cuba,  where  they  still  remain. 

About  seven  years  after  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus, 
Amerigo  Vespucci,  a  Florentine  gentleman,  visited  the 
West  Indies,  and  also  landed  on  the  eastern  coast  of  South 
America.  On  his  return  he  published  a  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  the  newly  discovered  countries.  From  this  cir- 
cumstance the  name  AMERICA  was  given  to  the  New 
World  by  a  German  writer  on  Geography,  who  may  have 
been  ignorant  of  the  claims  of  Columbus. 


1v795- 


'*&    '- ; 

$£.W     'ij. 


..'  *  ••• .« • 

,*•?;••», 


. 


'•• 


• 


. 
I 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE   ABORIGINES. 


IN  the  earliest  ages  of  the  world  the  ancient  inhabit- 
ants of  America  may  have  come  from  Asia.  The  prox- 
imity of  the  two  continents  in  the  vicinity  of  Behring's 
Straits  and  the  Aleutian  Isles,  render  such  an  emigration 
comparatively  easy.  There  is  reason  to  believe  the  people 
found  here  by  Europeans,  were  not  the  original  inhabit- 
nts  of  the  land. 

Throughout  the  continent,  more  especially  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Mississippi,  are  found  monuments  of  a  race 
more  ancient, — mounds  and  enclosures  of  great  extent, — 
the  work,  not  of  roving  savages,  but  of  a  people  who  lived 
in  settled  habitations,  it  may  be,  as  prosperous  and  peace- 
ful' cultivators  of  the  soil.  To  build  these  immense 
monuments,  the  materials  of  which  were  frequently 
brought  from  a  distance,  required  the  labor  and  toil  of  a 
numerous  population.  Perhaps  in  the  vicinity  of  these 
works,  villages  and  cities  once  stood.  The  enclosures 
were  used  either  as  places  of  defence,  or  for  purposes  of 
worship,  and  perhaps  for  both  ;  the  mounds  evidently  as 
places  of  burial  for  kings  or  chiefs. 

The  antiquary  finds  here  no  inscriptions,  which,  like 
those  found  on  the  plains  of  Shinar  or  in  the  valley  of  the 
lie,  can  unfold  the  mysteries  of  bygone  centuries.     He 
nds  only  the  scattered  remnants  of  vessels  of  earthen- 


CHAP. 
ii. 


£ 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

| 

CHAP,   ware,  rude  weapons  of  warfare,  axes  made  of  stone,  and 
__  1_  ornaments  worn  only  "by  a  people  rude  and  uncultivated. 

How  much  of  happiness  or  of  misery  this  ancient  people 
experienced  during  those  many  ages,  none  can  tell.  In  an 
i  evil  hour  came  some  dire  calamity.  It  may  have  been 
civil  war,  which  in  its  path  spread  desolation  far  and  wide  ; 
blotted  out  their  imperfect  civilization,  and  drove  the  more 
peaceful  inhabitants  further  south,  where  they  founded  the 
empires  of  Mexico  and  Peru  ;  while  those  who  remained 
degenerated  into  roving  savages,  and  converted  those  fer- 
tile plains  into  hunting-grounds.  Or  may  we  not  rather 
suppose  that  centuries  after  the  first  emigration,  there  came 
another  from  the  same  mother  of  nations,  Asia  ;  —  that  the 
latter  were  warlike  savages,  who  lived  not  by  cultivating 
the  soil  but  by  hunting  ;  —  that  these  invaders  drove  the 
peaceful  inhabitants  of  that  beautiful  region  to  the  far 
south,  and  took  possession  of  the  conquered  land  as  their 
own  home  and  hunting-ground  ? 

Travellers  have  noticed  the  near  resemblance  of  the 
aborigines  of  North  America  to  the  people  of  north- 
eastern Asia,  not  only  in  their  customs  but  in  their 
physical  appearance.  "  The  daring  traveller  Ledyard,  as 
he  stood  in  Siberia  with  men  of  the  Mongolian  race  before 
him,  and  compared  them  with  the  Indians  who  had  been 
his  old  play-fellows  and  school-mates  at  Dartmouth,  writes 
deliberately  that,  'universally  and  circumstantially  they 
resemble  the  aborigines  of  America/  On  the  Connecticut 
and  the  Obi,  he  saw  but  one  race/'  ' 

More  than  two  thousand  years  ago,  Herodotus  wrote  in 
his  history,  that  the  Scythians  practised  the  custom  of 
scalping  their  enemies  slain  in  battle  ;  that  the  warrior 
preserved  these  scalps  as  the  evidence  of  his  bravery,  and 
used  them  to  decorate  his  tent  and  the  trappings  of  his 
horse.  The  wonderful  skill  of  these  Scythians  in  han- 


1  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  III.,  page  318. 
^  *         *  %  *5&  '-       * '  *.         •£ 


§ 

SdirL 


INDIANS — FOUR   DIVISIONS. 

dling  the  bow  and  arrow  was  proverbial  in  ancient  times.    CHAP. 
Who  can  tell  but  the  ancestors  of  the  aborigines  of  America 
came  from  Scythia,  and  brought  with  them  their  skill  in 
using  the  bow  and  arrow,  and  the  singular  custom  of 
scalping  ? 

Of  the  North  American  Indians  there  were  four  general 
divisions  ;  these  occupied  as  many  separate  portions  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada.  The  Algonquin  branch,  with 
its  various  tribes,  claimed  the  territory  extending  from  the 
north  of  Maine  to  Cape  Fear,  thence  to  the  Mississippi,  and 
north  of  the  great  lakes  to  the  vicinity  of  Hudson  Bay  ; 
their  territory  completely  encircled  that  claimed  by  their 
enemies,  the  powerful  Huron-Iroquois,  whose  central  por- 
tion was  along  the  north  shores  of  the  Lakes  Erie  and 
Ontario,  beyond  Georgian  bay  of  Lake  Huron,  and  almost 
to  the  Ottawa  river,  and  south  of  the  same  lakes  to  the 
waters  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Susquehannah,  and  from  the 
west  end  of  Lake  Erie  to  Lake  Champlain  and  the  Hud- 
son. The  Mobilian  branch  extended  from  Cape  Fear  to 
the  south  point  of  Florida  ;  west  along  the  north  shores 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Mississippi ;  north  as  far  as 
the  Tennessee  river  and  the  southern  spurs  of  the  Cum- 
berland mountains.  West  of  the  Mississippi  were  the  roving 
tribes  of  the  Dahcotahs,  or  Sioux. 

As  the  natives  of  these  different  portions  of  the  conti- 
nent closely  resembled  each  other  in  physical  constitution 
and  personal  appearance,  the  first  explorers  supposed  they 
were  one  and  the  same  people  ;  but  when  their  languages 
became  better  known,  ethnologists  classified  them  as  dif- 
ferent branches  of  the  same  great  family.  In  earlier  ages 
they  may  have  been  one  people,  speaking  the  same  lan- 
guage ;  afterward,  revengeful  wars,  unrelentingly  waged 
for  ages,  separated  them.  Each  little  tribe  or  family  wan- 
dered alone  ;  as  differing  circumstances  and  necessities  re- 
quired, they  added  new  words  to  the  original  language  ; 
thus  were  formed  dialects,  which  philologists  have  par- 

':**'* 


'  ' 

A 


10  HISTOKY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


tially  traced,  and  which  apparently  lead  to  the  same  mother 
—  -*.  tongue. 

Their  mode  of  living,  customs,  and  religious  belief  were 
also  similar  ;  their  houses,  or  wigwams,  were  formed  of 
poles  placed  in  the  ground,  and  bent  toward  each  other  at 
the  top,  and  covered  with  birch  or  chestnut  bark  ;  they 
dressed  in  the  skins  of  animals  ;  wore  as  ornaments  the 
feathers  of  the  eagle  and  the  claws  of  the  bear,  —  trophies 
of  their  skill  as  hunters,  —  and  valued  more  than  all  the 
scalps  of  their  enemies  ;  proofs  of  their  bravery  and  success 
in  war. 

They  believed  in  a  Great  Spirit  that  pervaded  all 
things  ;  their  heaven  lay  away  beyond  the  mountains  of 
the  setting  sun  :  it  was  a  land  of  bright  meadows  and 
crystal  springs,  a  happy  hunting-ground  stocked  with  wild 
animals,  where  the  Indian  hunter  after  death  enjoyed 
the  chase,  and  never  suffered  cold,  nor  thirst,  nor  hunger 
more. 

NOTE.—  As  the  several  tribes  of  Indians  come  within  the  scope  of  this 
history  they  will  be  further  noticed. 


* 


' 

reP- 


I  • 

J 

i 


ir 

• 
<*•*  ' 


•    ,  ' 


CHAPTEK    III. 


<r  »v 

SPANISH   DISCOVERIES   AND   CONQUESTS. 

South  Sea. — First  Voyage  round  the  World. — Ponce  de  Leon. — Florida, 
Discovery  and  Attempt  to  settle. — Vasquez  de  Ayllon. — Conquest  of 
Mexico  and  Peru. 

ft. 

IN  a  few  years  the  Spaniards  subdued  and  colonized  the   C^AP- 

most  important  islands  of  the  West  Indies.     The  poor  

timid  natives  were  either  murdered  or  reduced  to  slavery.    1500. 
Unheard-of  cruelties  in  a  short  time  wasted,  and  almost 
exterminated  the  entire  race. 

Not  satisfied  with  the  possession  of  these  islands,  the 
Spaniards  made  further  discoveries  from  time  to  time 
around  the  Gulf  of  Mexico ;  they  explored  the  southern 
part  of  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan  ;  they  planted  a  colony 
on  the  narrow  Isthmus  of  Darien.  Until  this  time,  no  151°- 
settlement  had  been  made  on  the  Western  Continent. 

When  in  search  of  gold,  Nunez  de  Balboa,  the  govern- 
or of  this  colony,  made  an  exploring  tour  into  the  interior, 
he  ascended  a  high  mountain,  and  from  its  top  his  eyes 
were  greeted  with  the  sight  of  a  vast  expanse  of  water 
extending  away  to  the  south,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 
He  called  it  the  South  Sea.  But  seven  years  later,  Magel- 
lan, a  Portuguese  mariner  in  the  service  of  Spain,  passed 
through  the  dangerous  and  stormy  Straits  which  bear  his 
name  ;  and  sailing  out  into  the  great  field  of  waters,  found 
it  so  calm,  so  free  from  storms,  that  he  called  it  the  Pacific 
or  peaceful  ocean.  Magellan  died  on  the  voyage,  but  his 
ship  reached  the  coast  of  Asia,  and  thence  returned  home 

J 

?   i 


12  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,   to  Spain  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  thus  realizing  the 

1^  vision  of  Columbus,  that  the  world  was  a  globe,  and  coujd 

1512.    be  sailed  round. 

Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  a  former  governor  of  Porto  Eico,  fit- 
ted out  at  his  own  expense  three  ships  to  make  a  voyage 
of  discovery.  He  had  heard  from  the  natives  of  Porto  Eico 
that  somewhere  in  the  Bahama  Islands,  was  a  fountain 
that  would  restore  to  the  vigor  of  youth,  all  those  who 
should  drink  of  its  waters  or  bathe  in  its  stream.  This 
absurd  story  many  of  the  Spaniards  believed,  and  none 
more  firmly  than  De  Leon.  He  was  an  old  man,  and 
P^  anxious  to  renew  his  youthful  pleasures  ;  with  eager  hopes 

he  hastened  in  search  of  the  marvellous  fountain. 

He  did  not  find  it,  but  in  coasting  along  to  the  west  of 
the  islands,  he  came  in  sight  of  an  unknown  country.  It 
appeared  to  bloom  with  flowers,  and  to  be  covered  with 
magnificent  forests.  As  this  country  was  first  seen  on 
Easter  Sunday,  which  the  Spaniards  call  Pascua  Florida, 
he  named  it  Florida.  With  great  difficulty  he  landed  to 
the  north  of  where  St.  Augustine  now  stands,  and  took 
formal  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  Spanish 
sovereign.  He  sailed  to  the  south  along  the  unknown  and 
dangerous  coast,  around  the  extreme  point,  Cape  Florida, 
and  to  the  south-west  among  the  Tortugas  islands.  He 
received  for  his  services  the  honor  of  being  appointed  Gov- 
ernor of  Florida  by  the  King  of  Spain, — rather  an  expen- 
sive honor,  being  based  on  the  condition  that  he  should 
colonize  the  country. 

A  year  or  two  afterward,  he  attempted  to  plant  a 
colony,  but  found  the  natives  exceedingly  hostile.  They 
attacked  him  and  his  men  with  great  fury — many  were 
killed,  the  rest  were  forced  to  flee  to  their  ships,  and  Ponce 
de  Leon  himself  was  mortally  wounded.  He  had  been  a 
pj)  soldier  of  Spain  ;  a  companion  of  Columbus  on  his  second 

voyage  ;  had  been  governor  of  Porto  Eico,  where  he  had 
oppressed  the  natives  with  great  cruelty ;  he  had  sought 

'io  i 

-*        .  -m 

£  *«•  *v 

4  '*.  .JL  %   *.-•  * 


AYLL 


VASQUEZ  DE  AYLLON.  13 


an  exemption  from  the  ills  of  old  age  ;  had  attempted  to   CHAP. 

found  a  colony  and  gain  the  immortality  of  fame.    But  he 

returned  to  Cuba  to  die,  without  planting  his  colony  or    1512. 
drinking  of  the  fountain  of  youth. 

About  this  time  was  made  the  first  attempt  to  obtain 
Indians  from  the  Continent  as  slaves  to  work  in  the  mines 
and  on  the  plantations  of  Hispaniola  or  St.  Domingo.  The 
ignominy  of  this  attempt  belongs  to  a  company  of  seven 
men,  the  most  distinguished  of  whom  was  Lucas  Vasquez 
de  Ayllon.  They  went  first  to  the  Bahama  Islands,  from 
these  they  passed  to  the  coast  of  the  present  State  of  South 
Carolina,  landing  at  or  near  St.  Helena  Sound. 

The  natives  of  this  region  knew  not  as  yet  what  they 
had  to  fear  from  Europeans.  They  were,  however,  shy  at 
first,  but  after  presents  had  been  distributed  among  them, 
they  received  the  strangers  kindly.  They  were  invited  to 
visit  the  ships.  Curiosity  overcame  their  timidity,  and 
they  went  on  board  in  crowds.  The  treacherous  Spaniards 
immediately  set  sail  for  St.  Domingo,  regardless  of  the 
sorrows  they  inflicted  upon  the  victims  of  their  cruelty  and 
avarice.  Thus  far  their  plot  was  successful ;  soon  how-  1520. 
ever  a  storm  arose,  and  one  of  the  ships  went  down  with 
all  on  board  ;  sickness  and  death  carried  off  many  of  the 
captives  on  the  other  vessel.  Such  outrages  upon  the  na- 
tives were  common  •  and  instead  of  being  condemned  and 
punished,  they  were  commended.  Vasquez  went  to  Spain, 
boasting  of  his  expedition  as  if  it  had  been  praiseworthy. 
As  a  reward,  he  received  from  the  Spanish  monarch  a 
commission  to  conquer  the  country. 

When  he  had  expended  his  fortune  in  preparations,  he 
set  jail,  and  landed  upon  the  coast.  Bitter  wrongs  had 
been  inflicted  upon  the  natives,  and  their  spirit  was  roused. 
They  attacked  him  with  great  vigor,  killed  nearly  all 
his  men,  and  forced  him  to  give  up  the  enterprise.  It  is 
said  that  grief  and  disappointment  hastened  the  death  of 
Vasquez. 


*   *-     f*     •  ->**.- 
- 


• 

14  HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP.          The  Spaniards  were  more  successful  elsewhere.     The 
* '__  explorers  of  the  west  coast  of  the  Gulf  had  heard  of  the 

1520.  famed  empire  of  Mexico  and  its  golden  riches.     As  evi- 
dence of  the^  truth  of  these  marvellous  stories,  they  exhib- 
ited the  costly  presents  given  them  by  the  unsuspecting 
natives.     Under  the  lead  of  Fernando  Cortez,  six  hun- 
dred and  seventeen  adventurers  invaded  the  empire  ;  and 
though  they  met  with  the  most  determined  resistance,  in 
the  end  Spanish  arms  and  skill  prevailed.     Defeated  at 
every  point,  and  disheartened  at  the  death  of  their  em- 

1521.  peror,  Montezuma,  the  Mexicans  submitted,  and  their  em- 
1821.    pire  became  a  province  of  Spain.      Just  three  hundred 

years  from  that  time,  the  province  threw  off  the  Spanish 
yoke,  and  became  a  republic. 

Kumor  told  also  of  the  splendor  and  wealth  of  a  great 
empire  lying  to  the  south,  known  as  Peru.  Pizarro, 
another  daring  adventurer,  set  out  from  Panama  with  only 
one  hundred  foot  soldiers  and  sixty-seven  horsemen  to  in- 
vade and  conquer  it.  After  enduring  toil  and  labors 
almost  unparalleled,  he  succeeded  ;  and  that  empire,  con- 
taining milh'ons  of  inhabitants,  wealthy,  and  quite  civilized, 
1531.  was  reduced  to  a  province.  Pizarro  founded  Lima,  which 
became  his  capital.  He  oppressed  the  natives  with  great 
cruelty,  and  accumulated  unbounded  wealth  drawn  from 
mines  of  the  precious  metals,  but  after  a  rule  of  nine  years 
he  fell  a  victim  to  a  conspiracy. 


*  -*  * 


•1 


it 

*i  it 


- 


if 


• 

* 

;  "*. ' 

• 

•  %  ». 

CHAPTER   IV. 

M 

ENGLISH   AND   FRENCH   DISCOVERIES. 


John  Cabot  discovers  the  American  Continent. — Enterprise  of  his  son  Se- 
bastian.— Voyages  of  Verrazzani  and  Cartier. — Attempts  at  Settlement. 

'-  ^|^*  '      *  ^*     ^ 

WHILST  these    discoveries,    conquests,   and   settlements   CHAP. 

were  in  progress  in  the  South,  a  series  of  discoveries  was  [__ 

going  on  in  the  North.  1497".       » 

John  Cabot,  a  native  of  Venice,  residing,  as  a  merchant, 
in  Bristol,  in  the  West  of  England,  made  application  to 
Henry  VII.,  the  reigning  sovereign,  for  permission  to  go 
en  a  voyage  of  discovery.  The  king  gave  to  Cabot  and 
his  three  sons  a  patent,  or  commission,  granting  them  cer- 
tain privileges.  This  is  said  to  be  the  most  ancient  state 
paper  of  England  relating  to  America. 

As  Henry  VII.  was  proverbially  prudent  in  money 
matters,  he  would  not  aid  the  Cabots  by  sharing  with 
them  the  expense  of  the  expedition,  but  he  was  careful  to 
bind  them  to  land,  on  their  return,  at  the  port  of  Bristol, 
and  pay  him  one-fifth  part  of  the  profits  of  their  trade. 
They  were,  in  the  name  of  the  king,  to  take  possession  of 
all  the  territories  they  should  discover,  and  to  have  the  ex- 
clusive privilege  of  trading  to  them. 

Bristol,  at  this  time,  was  the  greatest  commercial  town 
in  the  West  of  England,  and  had  trained  up  multitudes 
of  hardy  seamen.  These  seamen  had  become  habituated 
to  the  storms  of  the  ocean,  by  battling  tempests  in  the 
Northern  seas  around  Iceland,  in  their  yearly  fishing  ex- 
cursions. It  is  quite  probable  they  had  there  heard  the 


*    * 

*    *•      i 
• 


»>  «L 

1(J  HISTORY   01TTHE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,   tradition,  that  at  a  remote  period  the  Icelanders  had  dis-  • 
IV'     covered  a  country  to  the  west  of  their  island. 
1497.          Cabot  and  his  son  Sebastian  sailed,  almost  due  west, 
.and  before  long  discovered  the  American  continent,  it  is 
supposed  near  the  fifty-sixth  degree  of  north  latitude. 
What  must  have  been  their  surprise  to  find,  in  the  lati- 
tude of  England,  a  land  dreary  with  snow  and  ice,  barren 
V-    rocks,  frowning  cliffs,  polar  bears,  and  wild  savages  !    This 
discovery  was  made  more  than  a  year  before  Columbus,  on 
his  third  voyage,  saw  the  South  American  coast,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Orinoco. 

Thus  the  Western  continent  was  discovered  by  pri- 
vate enterprise  alone.  The  next  year  a  voyage  was  under- 
taken for  the  purposes  of  trade,  and  also  to  ascertain 
if  the  country  was  suitable  for  making  settlements.  The 
king  now  ventured  to  become  a  partner  in  the  speculation, 
and  defrayed  some  ft"  the  expense.  Sebastian  Cabot  sailed, 
with  a  company  of  three  hundred  men,  for  Labrador,  and 
landed  still  further  north  than  at  his  first  voyage.  The 
severity  of  the  cold,  though  it  was  the  commencement  of 
summer,  and  the  barrenness  of  the  country,  deterred  him 
from  remaining  any  length  of  time.  He  sailed  to  the 
South  and  explored  the  coast,  till  want  of  provisions  forced 
him  to  return  home.  The  family  of  the  Cabots  derived 
no  benefit  from  their  discovery,  as  the  trade  to  those  barren 
regions  amounted  to  nothing. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  so  little  is  known  of  the 
many  voyages  of  Sebastian  Cabot.  Around  his  name  there 
lingers  a  pleasing  interest.  He  is  represented  as  being 
very  youthful,  not  more  than  twenty  years  of  age,  when 
he  went  on  his  first  voyage.  Mild  and  courteous  in 
his  manners  ;  determined  in  purpose,  and  persevering 
in  execution ;  with  a  mind  of  extraordinary  activity  ; 
daring  in  his  enterprises,  but  never  rash  or  imprudent  ; 
he  won  the  hearts  of'  his  sailors  by  his  kindness,  and 

~'       A,     .  ^      * 


Wl- 


commanded  their  respect  by  his  skill.     Such  was  the 


V*-'.  fcfV  * 

'I'*'     '«.'.    '.V: 

6  *  m.         .  <-r  •        » 


VOYAGE   OF    VERRAZZANI.  .17 

• 

VM 

.  man  who,  for  more  than  fifty  years,  was  the  foremost  in   CHAP. 

maritime  adventure.     He  explored  the  eastern  coast  of   '__ 

gouth  America  ;  sailed  within  twenty  degrees  of  the  North    1497. 
Pole,  in  search  of  the  North- Western  passage  ;  and  at  dif-> 
ferent  times  explored  the  eastern  coast  of  this  continent, 
from  Hudson's  straits  to  Albemarle  sound. 

The  Cabots  had  noticed  the  immense  shoals  of  fish  1524. 
which  frequented  the  waters  around  Newfoundland.  The  '  $ 
English  prosecuted  these  fisheries,  but  to  no  great  extent, 
as  they  continued  to^visit  the  Icelandic  seas.  French  fish- 
ermen, however,  availed  themselves  of  the  way  opened  by 
their  rivals,  and  prosecuted  them  with  great  vigor.  Plans 
for  planting  colonies  in  those  regions  were  often  proposed 
in  France,  yet  nothing  was  done  beyond  the  yearly  visits 
of  the  fishermen.  Francis  I.  was  finally  induced  to  attempt 
further  explorations.  For  this  purpose  he  employed  Ver- 
razzani,  a  native  of  Florence,  in  Italy,  a  navigator  of  some 
celebrity,  to  take  charge  of  an  expedition.  This  was  the 
first  voyage,  for  the  purpose  of  discovery,  undertaken  at 
the  expense  of  the  French  government. 

Verrazzani  sailed  south  to  the  Madeira  Isles,  and  thence 

» 

due  west,  in  quest  of  new  countries.  On  the  passage  he 
battled  a  terrible  tempest,  but  at  length  saw  land  in  the 
latitude  of  Wilmington,  North  Carolina.  No  good  har- 
bor could  be  found  as  he  coasted  along  to  the  south  for 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Then  turning  north,  he  cast 
anchor  from  time  to  time  and  explored  the  coast.  The 
surprise  of  the  natives  and  that  of  the  voyagers  was  mu- 
tual ;  the  one  wondered  at  the  white  strangers,  their  ships 
and  equipments  ;  the  other  at  the  "  russet  color"  of  the 
simple  natives  ;  their  dress  of  skins  set  off  with  various  rude 
ornaments  and  gaudy-colored  feathers.  The  imagination 
of  the  voyagers  had  much  to  do  witk  the  report  they  made 
of  their  discoveries.  The  groves,  they  said,  Jbloomed  with 
flowers,  whose  fragrance  greeted  them  far  from  the  shore, 

2  * 

*     1 


18  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  reminding  them  of  the  spices  of  the  East ;  the  reddish 
IV'     color  of  the  earth  was,  no  doubt,  caused  by  gold. 

1524.  *  The  explorers  examined  carefully  the  spacious  harbors 
of  New  York  and  Newport  ;  in  the  latter  they  remained 
fifteen  clays.  They  noticed  the  fine  personal  appearance 
of  the  natives,  who  were  hospitable,  but  could  not  be  in- 
duced to  trade,  and  appeared  to  be  ignorant  of  the  use  of 
iron.  They  continued  their  voyage  along  the  then  name- 
less shores  of  New  England  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  still  fur- 
ther north.  There  the  natives  were  hostile  ;  they  had 
learned,  by  sad  experience,  the  cruelty  and  treachery  of 
white  men.  Gaspar  Cortereal,  a  Portuguese,  some  years 
before,  had  visited  their  coast,  stolen  some  of  their  friends, 
and  sold  them  into  slavery.  They  were  willing  to  trade 
for  instruments  of  iron  o*r  steel,  but  were  very  cautious, 
fearful  of  being  again  entrapped. 

After  his  return,  Verrazzani  published  a  narrative  of 
his  voyage,  giving  much  more  information  of  the  country 
than  had  hitherto  been  known.  On  the  ground  of  his  dis- 
coveries, France  laid  claim  to  the  territory  extending  from 
South  Carolina  to  Newfoundland. 

1534.  Ten  years  after,  an  expedition  was  sent,  under  James 
Cartier,  a  mariner  of  St.  Malo,  to  make  further  discoveries, 
with  the  ultimate  design  of  founding  a  colony.  His  voyage 
was  very  successful ;  he  reached  Newfoundland  in  twenty 
days  ;  passed  through  the  Straits  of  Belleisle  ;  sailed  to  the 
south-west  across  a  gulf  and  entered  a  bay  ;  which,  from 
the  extreme  heat  of  the  weather,  he  named  Des  Chaleurs. 
Coasting  along  still  further  west,  he  landed  at  the  inlet 
called  Gaspe,  where  he  took  formal  possession  of  the  coun- 
try, in  the  name  of  his  sovereign.  This  he  did  by  plant- 
ing a  cross,  surmounted  by  the  lilies  of  France,  and  bear- 
ing a  suitable  inscripion.  Continuing  his  course  still 
further  west,  he  entered  the  mouth  of  a  great  estuary,  in 
which  he  ascertained  flowed  an  immense  river,  larger 

./  o 

•'    far  than  any  river  in  Europe.     These  explorations  were 
4     + 


* 

• 


VOYAGE   OF   CAKTIER.  ^19 

*?' 
»-•--;•<•  _f    «• 

made  during  the  months  of  July  and  August.    It  was  now  CHAP. 
necessary  for  kinl  io  return  home. 

His  account  of  the  climate  as  "  hotter  than  that  of,  1534. 
Spain,"  and  of  the  country  as  "  the  fairest  that  can  pos- 
sibly be  found  ;"  of  its  "  sweet-smelling  trees  •"  of  its 
"  strawberries,  blackberries,  prunes  and  wild  corn  ;"  its 
"  figs,  apples  and  other  fruits/'  together  with  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  great  gulf  and  noble  river,  excited  in  France 
the  most  intense  interest. 

Immediately  plans  were  devised  to  colonize  the  coun- 
try. The  court  entered  into  the  scheme.  Some  of  the 
young  nobility  volunteered  to  become  colonists.  By  the 
following  May  the  arrangements  were  completed.  Cartier, 
"  who  was  very  religious,"  first  conducted  his  company  to 
the  cathedral,  where  they  received  the  bishop's  blessing, 
then  set  sail,  with  high  hopes  of  founding  a  State  in  what 
was  then  called  New  France. 

After  a  somewhat   stormy  e  passage,   he   reached  the 
northern  part  of  the  gulf,  dn  the  day  of  St.  Lawrence  the    1535. 
Martyr,  in  honor  of  whom  it  was  named — in  time,  the 
name  was  applied  to  river  also. 

The  strangers  were  received  hospitably  by  the  natives. 
Cartier  ascended  the  river  in  a  boat  to  an  island,  on  which 
was  the  principal  Indian  settlement.  It  was  in  the  mild 
and  pleasant  montn  of  September.  He  ascended  a  hill,  at 
the  foot  of  which  lay  the  Indian  village;  he  was  enraptur- 
ed by  the  magnificent  scene  ;  the  river  before  him  evidently 
drained  a  vast  territory ;  the  natives  told  him  "  that  it 
went  so  far  to  the  west,  that  they  had  never  heard  of  any 
man  who  had  gone  to  the  head  of  it."  He  named  the  hill 
Mont-Eeal,  Eoyal-Mount ;  a  name  since  transferred  to  the 
island,  and  to  the  city. 

This  country  was  in  the  same  latitude  with  France  ;  he 
thought  its  climate  must  be  equally  mild,  its  soil  equally 
fertile  ;  and  that  it  might  become  the  home  of  a  happy  and 
industrious  people,  and  this  beautiful  island  the  centre  of  * 

* 


20  HISTORY   OF   THE 


UNITED    STATES. 


CHAP,   an  almost  unbounded  commerce.     He  did  not  know  that 

1_  God  had  sent  the  warm  waters  of  the  south  through  the 

1535.    Gulf  Stream  to  the  west  of  Europe  ;  that  they  warmed 

the  bleak  west  winds,  and  made  the  delightful  climate  of 

his  native  France  different  from  that  in  the  same  latitude 

in  North  America.1 

A  vigorous  winter  dissipated  his  visions.     His  honest 

narrative  of  the  voyage,  and  of  the  intense  coldness  of  the 

1  climate,  deterred  his   countrymen  from   making   further 

attempts  to  colonize  the  country.  There  was  no  gold  nor 
silver  to  be  found — no  mines  of  precious  stones.  What 
inducement  was  there  for  them  to  leave  their  fertile  and 
beautiful  France,  with  its  mild  and  healthful  climate,  to 
shiver  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  ? 

1540.  Thus  it  remained  for  four  years.  Among  many  who 
thought  it  unworthy  a  great  nation  not  to  found  a  State 
on  the  shores  of  the  magnificent  gulf  and  river  of  the  New 
World,  was  a  nobleman  of  Picardy,  Francis  de  la  Roque, 
lord  of  Roberval.  He  obtained  a  commission  from  Fran- 
cis I.  to  plant  a  colony,  with  full  legal  authority  as  viceroy 
over  the  territories  and  regions  on  or  near  the  Gulf  and 
Eiver  of  St.  Lawrence.  These  were  to  be  known  in  his- 
tory under  the  ambitious  name  of  Norimbega. 

Cartier  was  induced  by  Eoberval  to  receive  a  commission 
as  chief  pilot  of  the  expedition.  They  did  not  act  in  con- 
cert; both  were  tenacious  of  honor  and  authority,  and  they 
were  jealous  of  each  other. 

1540.  Cartier  sailed  the  following  spring,  passed  up  the  river, 
and  built  a  fort  near  where  Quebec  now  stands.  To  estab- 
lish a  prosperous  colony,  virtue,  industry,  and  perseverance 
must  be  found  in  the  colonists.  The  first  enterprise,  com- 

1  "The  quantity  of  heat  discharged  over  the  Atlantic  from  the  waters 
of  the  Gulf  Stream  in  a  winter's  day,  would  be  sufficient  to  raise  the  whole 
column  of  atmosphere  that  rests  upon  France  and  the  British  Isles,  from  the  » 
freezing  point  to  summer  heat." 
f  Maurtfs  Physical  Geography  of  the  Sea,  p.  51. 1J 

* 


ATTEMPTS   AT    SETTLEMENT.  21 

posed  of  young  noblemen  and  amateur  colonists,  failed,  as  CHAP. 

might  have  been  expected.     In  the  second  attempt  they  

went  to  the  other  extreme, — the  colonists  were  criminals,    1542. 
drawn  from  the  prisons  of  France. 

During  the  winter  Cartier  hung  one  of  them  for  theft ; 
put  some  in  irons  ;  and  whipped  others,  men  and  women, 
for  minor  faults.  In  the  spring,  just  as  Eoberval  himself 
arrived  with  a  reinforcement,  he  slipped  off  to  France, 
heartily  disgusted  with  his  winter's  occupation.  Koberval 
remained  about  a  year,  and  then  returned  home,  perfectly 
willing  to  resign  the  viceroyalty  of  Norimbega,  and  retire 
to  his  estates  in  Picardy.  After  a  lapse  of  fifty  years,  a 
successful  attempt  was  made  by  the  French  to  colonize  the 
same  territory. 


CHAPTEE   V. 

DE  SOTO  AND  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

CHAP.   THE  name  Florida  was  given  by  the   Spaniards   to  the 
'      entire  southern  portion  of  the  United  States.     Their  at- 

1539.  tempts  to  conquer  this  territory  had  hitherto  failed.  For 
some  unexplained  reason,  the  most  exaggerated  stories 
were  told  of  the  richness  of  the  country  ;  there  was  no  evi- 
dence of  their  truth,  yet  they  were  implicitly  believed. 

The  success  of  Cortez  in  conquering  Mexico,  and  of 
Pizarro  in  conquering  Peru,  excited  the  emulation  of 
Ferdinand  de  Soto.  He  had  been  a  companion  of  Pizarro  ; 
had  gained  honor  by  his  valor,  and,  in  accordance  with  the 
morals  of  the  times,  had  accumulated  an  immense  amount 
of  wealth  by  various  means  of  extortion.  Still  it  must  be 
said  in  his  favor,  that  he  was,  by  far,  the  most  humane  of 
any  of  the  Spanish  officers  who  pillaged  Mexico  and 
Peru.  Foreseeing  the  endless  quarrels  and  jealousies  of 
the  Spaniards  in  Peru,  he  prudently  retired  to  Spain  with 
his  ill-gotten  gains. 

Ambition  did  not  permit  him  to  remain  long  in  retire- 
ment. He  panted  for  a  name,  for  military  glory,  to  sur- 
pass the  two  conquerors  of  the  New  World.  He  asked 
permission  to  conquer  Florida,  at  his  own  expense.  The 
request  was  graciously  granted  by  the  Emperor,  Charles  V. 
He  also  received  an  honor  much  more  grateful  to  his  am- 
bition ;  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  Cuba,  and  of  all  the 
countries  he  should  conquer. 

* 


9  <  ^  > 

THE   LANDING   AT    TAMPA   BAY.  23 

The  announcement  that  he  was  about  to  embark  on  CHAP. 

this  enterprise,  excited  in  Spain  the  highest  hopes, — hopes  _ 

of  military  glory  and  of  unbounded  wealth.  Enthusiastic  1539. 
men  said  these  hopes  must  be  realized  ;  there  were  cities 
in  the  interior  of  Florida  as  rich,  if  not  richer  than  those 
of  Mexico  or  Peru  ;  temples  equally  spBndid,  to  be  plun- 
dered of  their  golden  ornaments.  Volunteers  offered  in 
crowds,  many  of  noble  birth,  and  all  proud  to  be  led  by  so 
renowned  a  chief.  From  these  numerous  applicants  De 
Soto  chose  six  hundred  men,  in  "  the  bloom  of  life/'  The 
enthusiasm  was  so  great,  that  it  appeared  more  like  a 
holiday  excursion  than  a  military  expedition. 

He  sailed  for  Cuba,  where  he  was  received  with  great 
distinction.  Leaving  his  wife  to  govern  the  island,  he 
sailed  for  Florida,  and  landed  at  Spiritu  Santo,  now  Tampa 
bay.  He  never  harbored  the  thought  that  his  enterprise 
could  fail.  He  sent  his  ships  back  to  Cuba  ;  thus,  in  imi- 
tation of  Cortez,  he  deprived  his  followers  of  the  means  to 
return.  Volunteers  in  Cuba  had  increased  his  army  to 
nearly  one  thousand  men,  of  whom  three3  hundred  were 
horsemen,  all  well  armed.  Every  thing  was  provided  that 
De  Soto's  foresight  and  experience  could  suggest ;  ample 
stores  of  provisions,  and  for  future  supplies,  a  drove  of 
swine,  for  which  Indian  corn  and  the  fruits  of  the  forest 
would  furnish  an  abundance  of  food.  The  company  was 
provided  with  cards,  that  they  might  spend  their  "  leisure 
time  in  gaming  ;"  a  dozen  of  priests,  that  the  "  festivals  of 
the  church  might  be  kept,"  and  her  ceremonies  rigidly  per- 
formed ;  chains  for  the  captive  Indians,  and  bloodhounds, 
to  track  and  tear  them  in  pieces,  should  they  attempt  to 
escape  ; — incongruities  of  which  the  adventurers  seemed 
unconscious. 

They  now  commenced  their  march  through  pathless 
forests.  The  Indian  guides,  who  had  been  kidnapped  on 
former  invasions,  soon  learned  that  they  were  in  seargh  of 
gold.  Anxious  to  lead  them  as  far  as  possible  from  the 


24  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  neighborhood  of  their  own  tribes,  they  humored  their  fan- 

cies,  and  told  them  of  regions  far  away,  where  the  precious 

1540.  metal  was  abundant.  In  one  instance  they  pointed  to  the 
north-east,  where  they  said  the  people  understood  the  art 
of  refining  it,  and  sent  them  away  over  the  rivers  and 
plains  of  GeorgidJ  It  is  possible  they  may  have  referred 
to  the  gold  region  of  North  Carolina. 

When  one  of  the  guides  honestly  confessed  that  he 
knew  of  no  such  country,  De  Soto  ordered  him  to  be  burned 
for  telling  an  untruth.  From  thi§  time  onward  the 
guides  continued  to  allure  the  Spaniards  on  in  search  of 
a  golden  region, — a  region  they  were  ever  approaching,  but 
never  reached. 

At  length  the  men  grew  weary  of  wandering  through 
forests  and  swamps  ;  they  looked  for  cities,  rich  and 
splendid,  they  found  only  Indian  towns,  small  and  poor, 
whose  finest  buildings  were  wigwams.  They  wished  to 
return  ;  but  De  Soto.. was'  determined  to  proceed,  and  his 
faithful  followers  submitted.  They  pillaged  the  Indians 
%  of  their  provisions,  thus  rendered  them  hostile,  and  many 
conflicts  ensued.  They  treated  their  captives  with  great 
barbarity  ;  wantonly  cut  off  their  hands,  burned  them  at 
the  stake,  suffered  them  to  be  torn  in  pieces  by  the  blood- 
hounds, or  chained  them  together  with  iron  collars,  and 
compelled  them  to  carry  their  baggage. 

They  moved  toward  the  south-west,  and  came  into  the 
neighborhood  of  a  large  walled  town,  named  Mavilla,  since 
Mobile.  It  was  a  rude  town,  but  it  afforded  a  better  ahel- 
ter  than  th&  forests  and  the  open  plains,  and  they  wished 
to  occupy  it.  The  Indians  resisted,  and  a  fierce  battle 
ensued.  The  Spanish  cavalry  gained  a  victory, — a  victory 
dearly  bought ;  the  town  was  burned,  and  with  it  nearly 
all  their  baggage. 

Meantime,  according  to  appointment,  ships  from  Cuba 
had  arrived  at  Pensacola.  De  Soto  would  not  confess  that 
he  had  thus  far  failed  ;  he  would  send  no  news  until  he 


DISCOVERY   OF    THE   MISSISSIPPI.  25 

had  rivalled  Cortez  in  military  renown.    They  now  directed  CHAP. 

their'  course  to  the  north-west,  and  spent  the  following  win- 

ter  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  of  Mississippi.  From  1540. 
the  Indian  corn  in  the  fields  they  obtained  food,  and  made 
their  winter  quarters  in  a  deserted  town.  When  spring 
returned,  a  demand  was  made  of  the  Crrfckasaw  chief  to 
furnish  men  to  carry  their  baggage.  The  indignant  chief 
refused.  The  hostile  Indians  deceived  the  sentinels,  and 
in  the  night  set  fire  to  the  village  and  attacked  the  Span- 
iards, but  after  a  severe  contest  they  were  repulsed.  It 
was  another  dear  victory  to  the  invaders ;  the  little 
they  had  saved  from  the  flames  at  Mobile  was  now  con-^ 
sumed.  This  company,  once  so  "  brilliant  in  silks  and 
glittering  armor,"  were  now  scantily  clothed  in  skins,  and 
mats  made  of  ivy. 

Again  they  commenced  their  weary  wanderings,  and 
before  many  days  found  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi.  De  Soto  expressed  no  feelings  of  pleasure  or 
of  admiration  at  the  discovery  of  the  magnificent  river, 
with  its  ever-flowing  stream  of  turbid  waters.  Ambition  ^ 
and  avarice  consume  the  finer  feelings  of  the  soul ;  they 
destroy  the  appreciation  of  what  is  noble  in  man  and 
beautiful  in  nature.  De  Soto  was  only  anxious  to  cross 
the  river,  and  press  on  in  search  of  cities  and  of  gold.  A  1541. 
month  elapsed  before  boats  could  be  built  to  transport  the 
horses.  At  length  they  were  ready,  and  white  men,  for 
the  first  time,  launched  forth  upon  the  Father  of  Waters. 

The  natives  on  the  west  bank  received  the  strangers 
kindly,  and  gave  them  presents.  The  Indians  of  southern 
Missouri  supposed  them  to  be  superior  beings — children  of 
the  sun — and  they  brought  them  their  blind  to  be  restored 
to  sight.  De  Soto  answered  them,  "  The  Lord  made  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  :  pray  to  Him  only  for  whatsoever 
ye  need."  Here  they  remained  forty  days  ;  sent  out  ex- 
plorers further  north,  who  reported  that  buffaloes  were  so 
numerous  in  that  region  that  corn  could  not  be  raised ; 


26  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

that   the  inhabitants   were  few,  and  lived  by  hunting. 
They  wandered  two  hundred  miles  further  west ;   then 

1541.  turned  to  the  south,  and  went  nearly  as  far,  among  In- 
dians who  were  an  agricultural  people,  living  in  villages, 
and  subsisting  upon  the  produce  of  the  soil. 

In  this  regi&i  another  winter  was  passed.  It  was  now 
almost  three  years  since  De  Soto  had  landed  at  Tampa 
bay.  With  all  his  toil  and  suffering,  he  had  accomplished 

1542.  nothing.     In  the   spring,  he  descended  the  Wachita  to 
the  Red  river,  and  thence  once  more  to  the  Mississippi. 
There  he  learned  that  the  country,  extending  to  the  sea, 
was  a  waste  of  swamps,  where  no  man  dwelt. 

His  cup  of  disappointment  was  full ;  his  pride,  which 
had  hitherto  sustained  him,  must  confess  that  his  enter- 
prise had  been  a  failure.  He  had  set  out  with  higher 
hopes  than  any  Spanish  conqueror  of  the  New  World ; 
now  his  faithful  band  was  wasted  by  disease  and  death. 
He  was  far  from  aid  ;  a  deep  gloom  settled  upon  his  spirit ; 
his  soul  was  agitated  by  a  conflict  of  emotions  ;  a  violent 
fever  was  induced ;  and  when  sinking  rapidly,  he  called 
his  followers  around  him,  they,  faithful  to  the  last,  im- 
plored him  to  appoint  a  successor  ;  he  did  so.  The  next 
day  De  Soto  was  no  more.  His  soldiers  mourned  for  him  ; 
the  priests  performed  his  funeral  rites ;  with  sad  hearts 
they  wrapped  his  body  in  a*mantle,  and,  at  the  silent  hour 
of  midnight,  sunk  it  beneath  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi. 

His  followers  again  wandered  for  awhile,  in  hopes  of 
getting  to  Mexico.  Finally  they  halted  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi ;  erected  a  forge  ;  struck  the  fetters  off 
their  Indian  captives,  and  made  the  iron  into  nails  to  build 
boats  ;  killed  their  horses  and  swine,  and  dried  their  flesh 
for  provisions.  When  the  boats  were  finished  they 
launched  them  upon  the  river,  and  floated  down  its 
stream  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

1672.          After  the  lapse^of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years,  the  Mis- 
sissippi was  again  visited  by  white  men  of  another  nation. 
I 


CHAPTEK    VI. 

THE  REFORMATION  AND  ITS  EFFECTS. 

FROM  this  period  we  find  interwoven  with  the  early  his-  CHAP. 
tory  of  our  country  a  class  of  persons  who  were  not  mere  VL 
adventurers,  seekers  after  gold  or  fame — but  who  sought  151Y 
here  a  home,  where  they  might  enjoy  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  and  who  held  the  principles  of  which  we  see  the 
result  in  the  institutions  of  the  United  States,  so  different 
in  some  respects  from  those  of  any  other  nation.  This  differ- 
ence did  not  spring  from  chance,  but  was  the  legitimate  ef- 
fect of  certain  influences.  What  has  made  this  younger 
member  of  the  great  family  of  governments  to  differ  so  much 
from  the  others  ?  What  were  the  principles,  what  the  in- 
fluences, which  produced  such  men  and  women  as  our 
revolutionary  ancestors  ?  The  world  has  never  seen  their 
equals  for  self-denying  patriotism  ;  for  enlightened  views 
of  government,  of  religious  liberty,  and  of  the  rights  of  con- 
science. 

When  great  changes  are  to  be  introduced  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  God  orders  the  means  to  accomplish 
them,  as  well  as  the  end  to  be  attained.  He  trains  the 
people  for  the  change.  He  not  only  prepared  the  way  for 
the  discovery  of  this  continent,  but  for  its  colonization  by 
a  Christian  people.  Fifty  years  before  the  first  voyage  of 
Columbus,  the  art  of  printing  was  invented — and  twenty- 
five  years  after  the  same  voyage,  commenced  the  [Reforma- 
tion in  Germany  under  Martin  Luther.  c  The  art  of  print- 
ing, by  multiplying  books,  became  the  means  of  diffusing 


28  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   knowledge  among  men,  and  of  awakening  the  human  rnind 

from  the  sleep  of  ages.     One  of  the  consequences  of  this 

1517.  *  awakening,  was  the  Eeformation.  The  simple  truths  of 
the  Gospel  had  been  obscured  by  the  teachings  of  men. 
The  decrees  of  the  church  had  drawn  a  veil  between  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  human  soul.  The  priesthood  had 
denied  to  the  people  the  right  of  studying  for  themselves 
the  word  of  God.  The  views  of  the  Keformers  were  the 
reverse  of  this.  They  believed  that  God,  as  Lord  of  the 
conscience,  had  given  a  revelation  of  his  will  to  man,  and 
that  it  was  the  inherent  right  and  privilege  of  every  human 
being  to  study  that  will,  each  one  for  himself.  They  did 
not  stop  here  :  they  were  diligent  seekers  for  truth  ;  the 
advocates  of  education  and  of  free  inquiry.  Throwing 
aside  the  traditions  of  men,  they  went  directly  to  the 
Bible,  and  taught  all  men  to  do  the  same. 

On  the  continent,  the  Keformation  began  among  the 
learned  men  of  the  universities,  and  gradually  extended  to 
the  uneducated  people.  In  England,  the  common  people 
were  reading  the  Bible  in  their  own  language,  long  before 
it  was  the  privilege  of  any  nation  on  the  continent.*  Thus 
the  English  were  prepared  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the 
Eeformation  under  Luther.  Soon  persecutions  of  the  Ee- 
formers  arose  ;  with  civil  commotions  and  oppressions 
involving  all  Europe  in  war.  These  troubles  drove  the 
Huguenot  from  France  and  the  Puritan  from  England,  to 
seek  homes  in  the  wilderness  of  the  New  World. 

From  the  Bible  they  learned  their  high  and  holy  prin- 
ciples ;  fiery  trials  taught  them  endurance.  They  brought 
with  them  to  our  shores  the  spirit  of  the  Eeformation,  the 
recognition  of  civil  rights  and  religious  liberty.  These 
principles  have  been  transmitted  to  us  in  our  national 
institutions  and  form  of  government. 

*  D'Aubigne's  Hist,  of  the  Reformation,  Vol.  V. 


CHAPTEK    VII. 

THE  HUGUENOTS  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

Their  settlement  destroyed. — The  Colony  of  St.  Augustine. — De  Gourges. 
Settlements  in  New  France. — Champlain  and  his  Success. 

'       • 

WHILE  these  contests  were  going  on  in  Europe  between  CHAP 

the  friends  of  religious  liberty  and  the  Eoman  Catholics,  '__ 

Coligny,  the  high-admiral  of  France,  a  devoted  Protestant,  1562. 
conceived  the  idea  of  founding  a  colony  in  the  New  World, 
to  which  his  persecuted  countrymen  might  flee,  and  enjoy 
that  which  was  denied  them  in  their  native  land ;  the 
inestimable  privilege  of  worshipping  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  own  conscience,  enlightened  by  his  holy 
word. 

The  French  government  took  no  interest  in  the  matter. 
Those  influences  were  then  at  work,  which  a  few  years  1572. 
later  produced  their  dire  effect  in  the  massacre  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew. Coligny,  however,  easily  obtained  a  commission 
from  Charles  IX.  Preparations  were  soon  made,  and  the 
expedition  sailed  under  the  direction  of  John  Kibault,  a 
worthy  man,  and  a  sincere  Protestant. 

They  knew  the  character  of  the  country  and  of  the 
climate  in  the  latitude  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  they  wish- 
ed to  find  a  region  more  fertile  and  a  climate  more  genial. 
They  made  land  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Augustine,  Florida; 
then  continued  further  north  along  the  coast,  and  landed 
at  Port  Eoyal  entrance.  They  were  delighted  with  the  May. 
country,  its  fine  climate,  its  magnificent  forests,  fragrant 


30  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.   with  wild  flowers  ;  but  above  all  with  the  capacious  har- 

bor,  which  was  capable  of  floating  the  largest  ships.    Here 

1562.  it  was  determined  to  make  a  settlement :  a  fort  was  built 
on  an  island  in  the  harbor,  and  in  honor  of  their  sovereign 
called  CAROLINA.  Leaving  twenty-five  men  to  keep  pos- 
session of  the  country,  Eibault  departed  for  France,  with 
the  intention  of  returning  the  next  year  with  supplies  and 
more  emigrants.  He  found  France  in  confusion ;  civil 
war  was  raging  with  all  its  attendant  horrors.  In  vain  the 
colonists  looked  for  reinforcements  and  supplies — none 
ever  came.  Disheartened,  they  resolved  to  return  home  ; 
they  hastily  built  a  brigantine,  and  with  an  insufficiency  of 
provisions,  set  sail.  They  came  near  perishing  at  sea  by 
famine,  but  were  providentially  rescued  by  an  English  bark. 
Part  of  these  colonists  were  taken  to  France,  and  part  to 
England, — there  they  told  of  the  fine  climate  and  the  rich 
soil  of  the  country  they  had  attempted  to  colonize.  We 
shall  yet  see  the  effect  of  this  information  in  directing 
English  enterprise. 

Two  years  after,  there  was  a  treacherous  lull  in  the 
storm  of  civil  discord  in  France  ;  Coligny  again  attempted 
to  found  a  colony.  The  care  of  this  expedition  was  intrust- 
ed to  Laudoniere,  a  man  of  uprightness  and  intelligence, 
who  had  been  on  the  former  voyage.  The  healthfulness  of 
the  climate  of  Florida  was  represented  to  be  wonderful : 
it  was  believed,  that  under  its  genial  influence,  human  life 
was  extended  more  than  one-half,  while  the  stories  of  the 
wealth  of  the  interior  still  found  credence.  Unfortunately 
proper  care  was  not  exercised  in  selecting  the  colonists 
from  the  numerous  volunteers  who  offered.  Some  were 
chosen  who  were  not  worthy  to  be  members  of  a  colony 
based  on  religious  principles,  and  founded  for  noble  pur- 
poses. £} 

They  reached  the  coast  of  Florida,  avoided  Port  Koyal, 

1564.    the  scene  of  former  misery,  and  found  a  suitable  location 

for  a  settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  river  May,  now  called 


FORT    CAROLINA.  31 

the  St.  Johns.     They  offered  songs  of  thanksgiving  to  God   CHAP. 

for  his  guiding  care,  and  trusted  to  his  promises  for  the  L 

future.    They  built  another  fort,  which  like  the  first  they    1564. 
called  Carolina.     The  true  character  of  some  of  the  colo-    June, 
nists  soon  began  to  appear, — these  had  joined  the  enter- 
prise with  no  higher  motive  than  gain.     They  were  muti- 
nous, idle,  and  dissolute,  wasting  the  provisions  of  the  com- 
pany.   They  robbed  the  Indians,  who  became  hostile,  and 
refused  to  furnish  the  colony  with  provisions. 

Under  the  pretext  of  avoiding  famine,  these  fellows  of 
the  baser  sort  asked  permission  of  Laudoniere  to  go  to  New 
Spain.  He  granted  it,  thinking  it  a  happy  riddance  for 
himself  and  the  colony.  They  embarked,  only  to  become 
pirates.  The  Spaniards,  whom  they  attacked,  took  their 
vessel  and  made  most  of  them  slaves  ;  the  remainder  es- 
caped in  a  boat.  They  knew  of  no  safer  place*,than  Fort 
Carolina.  When  they  returned  Laudoniere  had  them 
arrested  for  piracy  ;  they  were  tried,  and  the  ringleaders 
condemned  and  executed ; — a  sufficient  evidence  that 
their  conduct  was  detested  by  the  better  portion  of  the 
colonists. 

Famine  now  came  pressing  on.  Month  after  month 
passed  away,  and  still  there  came  no  tidings — no  supplies 
from  home.  Just  at  this  time  arrived  Sir  John  Hawkins 
from  the  West  Indies,  where  he  had  disposed  of  a  cargo  of 
negroes  as  slaves.  He  was  the  first  Englishman,  it  is 
said,  who  had  engaged  in  that  unrighteous  traffic.  Though 
hard-hearted  toward  the  wretched  Africans,  he  manifested 
much  sympathy  for  the  famishing  colonists  ;  supplied  them 
with  provisions,  and  gave  them  one  of  his  ships.  They 
continued  their  preparations  to  leave  for  home,  when  sud- 
denly the  cry  was  raised  that  ships  were  coming  into  the  Aug. 
harbor.  It  was  Kibault  returning  with  supplies  ^nd  fami- 
lies of  emigrants.  He  was  provided  with  domestic  ani- 
mals, seeds  and  implements  for  cultivating  the  soil.  The 
scene  was  now  changed  ;  all  were  willing  to  remain,  and 


32  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  the  hope  of  founding  a  French  Protestant  State  in  the 

L  New  World  was  revived. 

1564.  Philip  II.,  the  cruel  and  bigoted  King  of  Spain,  heard 
that  the  French — French  Protestants — had  presumed  to 
make  a  settlement  in  Florida  !  Immediately  plans  were  laid 
to  exterminate  the  heretics.  The  king  found  a  fit  instru- 
ment for  the  purpose  in  Pedro  Melendez  ;  a  man  familiar 
with  scenes  of  carnage  and  cruelty,  whose  life  was  stained 
with  almost  every  crime.  The  king  knew  his  desperate 
character  ;  gave  him  permission  to  conquer  Florida  at  his 
own  expense,  and  appointed  him  its  governor  for  life,  with 
the  right  to  name  his  successor.  His  colony  was  to  consist 
of  not  less  than  five  hundred  persons,  one  hundred  of  whom 
should  be  married  men.  He  was  also  to  introduce  the 
sugar-cane,  and  five  hundred  negro  slaves  to  cultivate  it. 
The  expedition  was  soon  under  way.  Melendez  first  saw  the 
land  on  the  clay  consecrated  to  St.  Augustine  ;  some  days 
after,  sailing  along  the  boast,  he  discovered  a  fine  harbor 
and  river,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  that  saint.  From 
the  Indians  he  learned  where  the  Huguenots  had  estab- 
lished themselves.  They  were  much  surprised  at  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  fleet,  and  they  inquired  of  the  stranger  who 
he  was  and  why  he  came  ;  he  replied,  "  I  am  Melendez,  of 

SePt-  Spain,  sent  by  my  sovereign  with  strict  orders  to  behead 
and  gibbet  every  Protestant  in  these  regions  ;  the  Catholic 
shall  be  spared,  but  every  Protestant  shall  die  !"  The 
French  fleet,  unprepared  for  a  conflict,  put  to  sea ;  the 
Spaniards  pursued  but  did  not  overtake  it.  Melendez  then 
returned  to  St.  Augustine.  After  a  religious  festival  in 
honor  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  he  proceeded  to  mark  out  the 
boundaries  for  a  town.  St.  Augustine  is,  by  more  than 
forty  years,  the  oldest  town  in  the  United  States. 

His  determination  was  now  to  attack  the  Huguenots 
by  land,  and  carry  out  his  cruel  orders.  The  French  sup- 
posing the  Spaniards  would  come  by  sea,  set  sail  to  meet 
them.  Melendez  found  the  colonists  unprepared  and  de- 


THE    MASSACRE.  33 

fenceless  ;  their  men  were  nearly  all  on  board  the  fleet.    A  CHAP. 
short  contest  ensued  ;  the  French  were  overcome,  and  the      fr' 
fanatic  Spaniards  massacred  nearly  the  whole  number, —    1564. 
men,  women,  and  children  ;  they  spared  not  even  the  aged 
and  the  sick.     A  few  were  reserved  as  slaves,  and  a  few 
escaped  to  the  woods.     To  show  to  the  world  upon  what 
principles  he  acted,  Melendez  placed  over  the  dead  this 
inscription  : — "  I  do  not  this  as  unto  Frenchmen,  but  as 
unto  heretics."     Mass  was  celebrated,  and  on  the  ground 
still  reeking  with  the  blood  of  the  innocent  victims  of  re- 
ligious bigotry  and  fanaticism,  he   erected  a   cross  and 
marked  out  a  site  for  a  church — the  first  on  the  soil  of 
the  United  States. 

Among  those  who  escaped,  were  Laudoniere  and  Le 
Moyne,  an  artist,  sent  by  Coligny  to  make  drawings  of  the 
most  interesting  scenery  of  the  country  ;  and  Challus,  who 
afterward  wrote  an  account  of  the  calamity.  When  they 
seemed  about  to  perish  in  the  forests  from  hunger,  they 
questioned  whether  they  should  appeal  to  the  mercy  of 
their  conquerors.  "  No,"  said  Challus,  "  let  us  trust  in 
the  mercy  of  God  rather  than  of  these  men/'  After  en- 
during many  hardships,  they  succeeded  in  reaching  two 
small  French  vessels  which  had  remained  in  the  harbor, 
and  thus  escaped  to  France.  A  few  of  their  companions, 
who  threw  themselves  upon  the  mercy  of  the  Spaniards, 
were  instantly  murdered. 

While  these  scenes  of  carnage  were  in  progress, 
rible  storm  wrecked  the  French  fleet ;  some  of  the  soldiers 
and  sailors  were  enabled  to  reach  the  shore,  but  in  a  des- 
titute condition.  These  poor  men  when  invited,  surren- 
dered themselves  to  the  promised  clemency  of  Melendez. 
They  were  taken  across  the  river  in  little  companies  ;  as 
they  landed  their  hands  were  tied  behind  them,  and  they 
driven  to  a  convenient  place,  where  at  a  given  Signal  they 
were  all  murdered.  Altogether  nine  hundred  persons 
perished  by  shipwreck  and  violence.  It  is  the  office  of 
3 

* 


34  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,   history  to  record  the  deeds  of  the  past — the  evil  and  the 

j|L_  good ;  let  the  one  be  condemned  and  avoided,  the  other 

1564.    commended  and  imitated.     May  we  not  hope  that  the  day 

of  fanatic  zeal  and  religious  persecution  has  passed  away 

forever  ? 

The  French  government  was  indifferent,  and  did  not 
avenge  the  wrongs  of  her  loyal  and  good  subjects  ;  but  the 
Huguenots,  and  the  generous  portion  of  the  nation,  were 
roused  to  a  high  state  of  indignation  at  such  wanton,  such 
unheard-of  cruelty.  This  feeling  found  a  representative 
in  Dominic  de  Gourges,  a  native  of  Gascony.  He  fitted 
out,  at  his  own  expense,  three  ships,  and  with  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men  sailed  for  Florida.  He  suddenly  came 
upon  the  Spaniards  and  completely  overpowered  them. 
1568.  Near  the  scene  of  their  former  cruelty  he  hanged  about 
two  hundred  on  the  trees  ;  placing  over  them  the  inscrip- 
tion, "  I  do  not  this  as  unto  Spaniards  and  mariners,  but 
as  unto  traitors,  robbers j  and  murderers  !"  Gourges  im- 
^  £»  mediately  returned  to  France,  when  the  "  Most  Christian" 

.  king  set  a  price  upon  his  head  ;  and  he  who  had  exposed 
his  life,  and  sacrificed  his  fortune  to  avenge  the  insult 
offered  to  his  country,  was  obliged  to  conceal  himself  to 
escape  the  gallows.  Thus  perished  the  attempt  of  the 
noble  Coligny  and  the  Huguenots  to  found  a  French  Prot- 
estant State  in  the  New  World. 

jjj^. 

After  the  unsuccessful  expeditions  of  Carrier  and  Ko- 

berval,  French  fishermen,  in  great  numbers,  continued  to 
visit  the  waters  around  Newfoundland.  As  the  govern- 
ment had  relinquished  its  claim  to  Florida,  the  idea  was 
once  more  revived  of  colonizing  on  the  shores  of  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

1567.  The  Marquis  de  la  Koche  obtained  a  commission  for  this 
purpose.  Tlis  colonists,  like  those  of  Koberval,  were  crimi- 
nals taken  from  the  prisons  of  France  :  like  his,  this  enter- 
prise proved  an  utter  failure.  The  efforts  of  some  mer- 


• 

PORT   ROYAL   SETTLEMENT.  35 

"' 

chants,  who  obtained  by  patent  a  monopoly  of  the  fur-  CHAP. 
trade,  also  failed.  ' 

At  length,  a  company  of  merchants  of  Kouen  engaged  1603. 
in  the  enterprise  with  more  success.  That  success  may  be 
safely  attributed  to  Samuel  Champlain,  a  man  of  compre- 
hensive mind,  of  great  energy  of  character,  cautious  in  all 
his  plans  ;  a  keen  observer  of  the  -habits  of  the  Indians, 
and  an  unwearied  explorer  of  the  country. 

In  the  latter  part  of  this  same  year,  a  patent,  exclu- 
sive in  its  character,  was  given  to  a  Protestant,  the  excel- 
lent and  patriotic  Sieur  Be  Monts.  The  patent  conferred 
on  him  the  sovereignty  of  the  country  called  Acadie — a 
territory  extending  from  Philadelphia  on  the  south,  to  be- 
yond Montreal  on  the  north,  and  to  the  west  indefinitely. 
It  granted  him  a  monopoly  of  the  fur-trade  and  other 
branches  of  commerce ;  and  freedom  in  religion  to  the 
Huguenots  who  should  become  colonists.  It  was  enjoined 
upon  all  idlers,  and  men  of  no  profession,  and  banished 
persons  to  aid  in  founding  the  colony. 

The  expedition  was  soon  under  way  in  two  ships.  In 
due  time  they  entered  a  spacious  harbor  on  the  western 
part  of  Nova  Scotia,  which  they  named  Port  Koyal,  since 
Annapolis.  The  waters  abounded  in  fish,  and  the  coun- 
try was  fertile  and.  level — advantages  that  induced  some  of 
the  emigrants  to  form  a  settlement.  Others  went  to  an 
island  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix,  but  the  next  spring  1607. 
they  removed  to  Port  Koyal.  This  was  the  first  perma- 
nent French  settlement  in  the  New  World ;  and  these 
were  the  ancestors  of  those  unfortunate  Acadiens  whose 
fate,  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  later,  forms  a  melancholy 
episode  in  American  history. 

Among  the  influences  exerted  upon  the  Indians  was 
that  of  the  Jesuits,  who,  a  few  years  afterward^ were  sent 
as  missionaries  to  the  tribes  between  the  Penobscot  and 
the  Kennebec  in  Maine.  These  tribes  became  the  allies 
of  the  French,  and  remained  so  during  all  their  contests 

. 

•*•      r- 


36  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  with  the  English.     De  Monts  explored  the  coast  and  rivers 
L  of  New  England  as  far  south  as  Cape  'Cod,  intending 

1608.  somewhere  in  that  region  to  make  a  settlement ;  but  disas- 
ter followed  disaster,  till  the  project  was  finally  abandoned. 

Meantime,  Champlain,  whose  ambition  was  to  estab- 
lish a  State,  had  founded  Quebec,  that  is,  it  was  the 
centre  of  a  few  cultivated  fields  and  gardens.  Huguenots 
were  among  the  settlers  ;  they  had  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  enterprise  ;  but  there  were  also  others  who  were  of  the 
Catholic  faith.  Soon  religious  disputes  as  well  as  commer- 
cial jealousies  arose,  which  retarded  the  progress  of  the 
colony.  Champlain,  the  soul  of  the  enterprise,  was  not 
idle  ;  he  made  many  exploring  expeditions,  and  discovered 

1609.  the  beautiful  lake  which  bears  his  name.     In  spite  of  the 
quarrels  between  the  Jesuits  and  'the  Huguenots,  and  the 
restlessness  of  the  Indians  and  disappointments  of  various 
kinds,  the  persevering  Champlain  succeeded  in  establish- 

1634.  ing  a  French  colony  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
For  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  it  remained  under  the 
dominion  of  his  native  France,  and  tben  passed  into  the 
hands  of  her  great  rival. 


p 
I 


** 


CHAPTEK     VIII. 

~.  '"••'•  •'*   ' 

ENGLISH  ENTERPEISE. 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert.— The  Fisheries.— St.  Johns,  Newfoundland.— Sir 
Walter  Kaleigh. — Exploring  Expedition. — Virginia;  failures  to  colo- 
nize.— Contest  with  Spain. — Death  of  Sir  Walter. 

CHAP. 
VIII. 

ENGLAND  never  relinquished  her  claims  to  North  Ainer-  

ica ;  they  were  based  upon  the  discovery  and  explorations  1569. 
of  Sebastian  Cabot.  According  to  the  received  rules  of 
the  times,  she  was  right,  as  he  was  undoubtedly  the  1497. 
first  discoverer.  For  many  reasons,  she  was  not  pre- 
pared to  avail  herself  of  these  claims,  till  nearly  ninety 
years  after  that  discovery.  This  time  was  not  passed  by 
the  English  sailors  in  maritime  idleness.  During  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII.,  intercourse  was  kept  up  with  the  fisheries 
of  Newfoundland,  that  school  of  English  seamen,  in  which 
were  trained  the  men  who  gave  to  that  nation  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  ocean, — the  element  upon  which  the  military 
glory  of  England  was  to  be  achieved.  The  king  cherished 
his  navy,  and  took  commerce  under  his  special  protection. 
The  reign  of  Mary,  of  bloody  memory,  saw  the  strug- 
gle commence  between  England  and  Spain  for  the  suprem- 
acy on  the  ocean.  j^She  married  Philip  II.,  the  most 
powerful  monarch  of  the  age  :  he  designed  to  subject  the 
English  nation  to  himself,  and  its  religion  to  the  church  of 
Rome.  When  this  became  known,  the  Protestant  spirit 
rose  in  opposition.  This  spirit  pervaded  the  entire  people  ; 

. 

*  t     -  •  * 


38  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   they  exerted  their  energies  to  the  utmost.    Instead  of  sub- 

L  mitting  to  the  dictation  of  Spain,  England  boldly  assumed 

1570.  the  position  of  an  antagonist.  There  was  a  marked  con- 
trast between  the  two  nations.  The  navy  of  the  one  was 
immense,  that  of  the  other  was  small,  but  brave  and  effi- 
cient :  the  one  drew  her  wealth  from  mines  of  gold  and 
silver  in  the  New  World — the  other  obtained  hers  by  the 
slow  process  of  industry  and  economy.  The  one  became 
proud  and  indolent,  luxurious  and  imbecile — the  other 
may  have  become  proud,  but  certainly  not  indolent;  luxu- 
rious, but  certainly  not  imbecile. 

On  her  accession,  Queen  Elizabeth  pursued  the  policy 
of  her  father  Henry  VIII.,  towards  her  navy  and  com- 
From  merce.  While  some  of  her  subjects  were  trading  by  land 
with  the  east,  others  were  on  the  ocean  cruising  against 
the  Spaniards  :  some  were  prosecuting  the  fisheries  around 
Newfoundland  and  in  the  seas  northwest  of  Europe  ;  some 
were  exploring  the  western  coast  of  America,  and  the  east- 
ern coast  of  Asia  :  others  were  groping  their  way  among 
the  islands  of  the  extreme  north,  in  a  vain  search  for  the 
north-west  passage.  « 

Explorers  were  still  haunted  with  the  idea  that  mines 
of  exhaustless  wealth  were  yet  to  be  found  in  the  New 
World.  Great  was  the  exultation  when  a  "  mineral-man" 
of  London  declared  that  a  stone  brought  by  an  English 
sailor  from  the  Polar  regions,  contained  gold.  England 
was  to  find  in  the  region  of  eternal  snow  mines  of  the  pre- 
cious metal,  more  prolific  than  Spain  had  found  in  Mexico. 
Soon  fifteen  vessels  set  sail  for  this  northern  island,  where 
there  was  "  ore  enough  to  suffice  all  the  gold-gluttons  of 
to  the  world."  They  returned  laden,  not  with  golden  ore,  but 
1578.  with  worthless  yellow  stones. 

Meanwhile,  the  fisheries  around  Newfoundland  had  be- 
come a  certain,  though  a   slow  source   of  wealth.      Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert,  a  gentleman  of  distinction  and  of  up-  , 
right  principles,  obtained  a  commission  from  the  Queen  to 


SIR   WALTER   RALEIGH.  39 

plant  a  colony   in   the  vicinity  of  these  fisheries.     He   CHAP. 


landed   at  St.   Johns,  Newfoundland,  and  there  in  the  '_ 

presence  of  the  fishermen  of  other  nations,  took  formal  Aug., 
possession  of  the  territory  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign.  He 
then  passed  further  south,  exploring  the  coast — but  losing 
his  largest  ship  with  all  on  board,  he  found 'it  necessary  to 
sail  for  home.  Only  two  vessels  remained,  one^of  which, 
the  Squirrel,  was  a  mere  boat  of  ten  tons,  used  to  explore 
the  shallow  bays  and  inlets.  The  closing  acts  of  Sir  Hum- 
phrey's life  afford  proofs  of  his  piety  and  nobleness  of  char- 
acter. Unwilling  that  the  humblest  of  his  men  should 
risk  more  danger  than  himself,  he  chose  to  sail  in  the  boat 
rather  than  in  the  larger  and  safer  vessel.  A  terrible  storm 
arose  ;  he  sat  calmly  reading  a  book — doubtless  that  book 
from  which  he  drew  consolation  in  times  of  sorrow  and 
trial.  To  encourage  those  who  were^in  the  other  vessel,  he 
was  heard  to  cry  to  them,  "  we  arenas  near  to  heaven  on 
sea  as  on  land/' — the  reality  of  this  cheering  thought  he 
was  soon  to  experience.  That  night,  those  on  the  larger 
vessel  saw  the  lights  of  the  little  boat  suddenly  disappear. 

The  next  attempt  at  colonization  was  made  by  Gilbert's  1534. 
half-brother,  Sir  Walter  Kaleigh,  one  of  the  noblest  of  that 
age  of  noble  spirits  :  gallant  and  courteous  in  his  manners; 
a  scholar,  a  poet,  a  benefactor  of  his  race  ;  his  name  should 
ever  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  the  people  of  this 
country.  He'  studied  the  art  of  war  with  Coligny,  the  high 
admiral  of  France.  When  in  that  country,  he  determined 
to  plant  a  colony  in  those  delightful  regions  from  which  the 
Huguenots  had  been  driven  by  the  hand  of  violence.  He 
had  learned  from  them  of  *fche  charming  climate,  where 
winter  lingered  only  for  a  short  time, — where  the  magnifi- 
cent trees  and  fragrant  woods  bloomed  during  nearly  all 
the  year, — where  the  gushing  fountains,  noble  rivers,  and 
fertile  soil  invited  the  industrious  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
their  labor.  When  Sir  Walter  returned  home  from  France, 
he  found  the  people  prepared  to  enter  upon  schemes  of 


40  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES.    + 

CHAP,   colonization  in  the  south.     They,  tot),  had  heard  of  those 

'_  "  delightful  regions  "  from  the  Huguenots,  who  at  sea  had 

1584.  been  rescued  from' death,  and  brought  to  England.  Ka- 
leigh  without  difficulty  obtained  a  commission,  granting 
him  ample  powers,  as  proprietor  of  the  territories  he  was 
about  to  colonize.  He  first  sent  an  exploring  expedition, 
consisting  of  two  ships,  under  Philip  Amidas  and  Arthur 
Barlow,  to  obtain  more  definite  information  of  the  country. 
Tfyey  sailed  the  usual  route,  by  the  Canaries  and  the  West 
Indies,  came  first  upon  the  coast  of  North  Carolina,  landed 
upon  one  of  the  islands  forming  Ocracock  inlet,  and  took 
formal  possession  of  the  country.  They  partially  explored 
Albemarle  and  Pamlico  sounds,  and  the  islands  and  coast 
in  the  vicinity,  and  then  sailed  for  home.  They  took  with 
them  two  of  the  natives,  Wanchese  and  Manteo  ;  the  lat- 
ter was  afterward  very  useful  to  the  colonists  as  an  inter- 
preter. Amidas  and  Barlow  on  their  return,  confirmed 
what  the  Huguenots  had  reported  of  the  excellence  of  the 
country.  They  saw  it  in  the  month  of  July.  They 
described  the  unruffled  ocean,  dotted  with  beautiful  islands; 
the  clearness  of  the  atmosphere  ;  the  luxuriant  forests 
vocal  with  the  songs  of  birds  ;  the  vines  draping  the  trees, 
and  the  grapes  hanging  in  clusters.  This  sunny  land,  in 
all  its  virgin  beauty,  appeared  to  these  natives  of  foggy 
England,  as  the  very  paradise  of  the  world.  Elizabeth, 
delighted  with  the  description,  named  the  country  Virginia, 
in  honor  of  herself,  as  she  took  pride  in  being  known  as  the 
Virgin  Queen. 

April,  it  was  not  difficult  now  to  obtain  colonists ;  soon  a 
fleet  of  seven  vessels  was  equipped,  containing  one  hun- 
dred and  eight  persons,  who  intended  to  form  a  settle- 
ment. Sir  Eichard  Grenville,  a  friend  of  Ealeigh,  and  a 
man  of  eminence,  commanded  the  fleet,  and  Kalph  Lane 
was  appointed  governor  of  the  colony.  After  a  tedious 
voyage,  they  landed,  in  June,  fifteen  hundred  and  eighty- 
five,  on  an  island  called  Koanake,  lying  between  Albemarle 

* 


a* 

' 


%*       ROANOKE    ABANDONED.  41 

and  Pamlico  sounds.    Before  long  they  excited  the  enmity  CHAP. 
of  the  Indians.     On  one  of  their  exploring  expeditions,  a  _  '_ 
silver  cup  was  lost  or  stolen.     The  Indians  were  charged   June, 
with  the  theft  ;  perhaps  they  were  innocent.     Because  it    1585- 
was  not  restored,  Grenville,  with  very  little  prudence  and 
less  justice,  set*  fire  to  their  village  and  destroyed  *their 
standing  corn.    Little  did  he  know  the  train  of  sorrow  and 
death  he  introduced  by  thus  harshly  treating  the  Indians 
and  making  them  enemies.     A  few  weeks  after  the  fleet 
sailed  for  England,  unlawfully  cruising  against  the  Span-     | 
ish  on  the  voyage.      Governor  Lane   now  explored  the 
country,  noticed  the  various  productions  of  the  soil,  and 
the  general  character  of  the  inhabitants.     The  colonists 
found  many  strange  plants  ;  —  the  corn,  the  sweet  potato, 
the  tobacco  plant,  were  seen  by  them  for  the  first  time. 
Lane  was  unfit  for  his  station  ;  he  became  unreasonably 
suspicious  of  the  Indians.    With  professions  of  friendship, 
he  visited  a  prominent  chief,  and  was  hospitably  received 
and  entertained  ;  this  kindness  he  repaid  by  basely  mur- 
dering the  chief  and  his  followers.     Men  capable  of  such 
treachery  were   necessarily  unfit   to   found   a  Christian 
State.     Provisions  now  began  to  fail  and  the  colonists 
to  despond. 

Just  at  this  time  Sir  Francis  Drake,  on  his  way  home 
from  the  West  Indies,  called  to  visit  the  colony  of  his 
friend  Kaleigh.  Though  they  had  been  but  a  year  in  the 
country,  the  colonists  begged  him  to  take  them  home. 
Drake  granted  their  request.  They  were  scarcely  out  of 
sight  of  land,  when  a  ship,  sent  by  Ealeigh,  laden  with 
supplies,  arrived.  The  colonists  could  not  be  found,  and 
the  ship  returned  to  England.  In  a  fortnight  Grenville 
appeared  with  three  ships  ;  not  finding  the  colonists  he 
also  returned  home,  unwisely  leaving  fifteen  me&  to  keep 
possession  of  the  territory. 

Though  disappointed  Ealeigh  did  not  despair.  The 
natural  advantages  of  the  country  had  failed  to  induce  the 


,  V       ,«  *»• 

* 

42  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


CHAP,   first  company  to  remain.    It  was  hoped,  that  if  surrounded 
'_  by  social  and  domestic  ties,  future  colonists  would  learn  to 

1586.  look  upon  it  a*s  their  true  home.     Sir  Walter's   second 
company  was  composed  of  emigrants  with  their  families, 
who  should  cultivate  the  soil,  and  eventually  found  a  State 
for  themselves  and  their  posterity.     Queen  Elizabeth  pro- 
fessed to  favor  the  enterprise,  but  did  nothing  to  aid  it. 
The  expedition  was  fitted  out  with  all  that  was  necessary 
to  foijn  an  agricultural  settlement.     Kaleigh  appointed 

Jan     John  White  governor,  with  directions  to  form  the  settle- 

1587.  ment  on  the  shores  of  Chesapeake  bay. 

They  came  first  to  the  Island  of  Koanoke,  there  to  be- 
hold a  melancholy  spectacle — the  bleaching  bones  of  the 
1  Juty,  jQen  whom  Grenville  had  left.  All  had  become  a  desert. 
Doubtless  they  had  been  murdered  by  the  Indians.  Fer- 
nando, the  naval  officer  in  command  of  the  fleet,  refused 
to  assist  in  exploring  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake,  and 
the  colonists  were  compelled  to  remain  on  the  Island  of 
Koanoke.  The  scene  of  two  failures  was  to  be  the  witness 
of  a  third.  The  Indians  were  evidently  hostile.  The 
colonists  becoming  alarmed,  urged  the  governor  to  hasten 
Aug.  to  England  and  speedily  bring  them  assistance.  Previous 
to  his  leaving,  Mrs.  Dale,  his  daughter,  and  wife  of  one  of 
his  lieutenants,  gave  birth  to  a  female  child, — the  first 
child  of  English  parentage  born  on  the  soil  of  the  United 
States  ;  it  was  appropriately  named  Virginia; 

White  on  his  return  found  Ijngland  in  a  state  of  great 
excitement.    The  Pope  had  excommunicated  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, and  had  absolved  her  subjects  from  their  allegiance 
to  her  throne  ;  at  the  same  time  promising  her  kingdom 
to  any  Catholic  prince  who  should  take  possession  of  it. 
The  revengeful  Philip,  of  Spain,  that  good  son  of  the 
"Church,  had  been  for  three  years  preparing  an  immense 
army  and  fleet,  with  which  he  intended  to  invade  and  con- 
quer England.    The  fleet  was  boastfully  named  the  Invin- 
1588.    cftie  Armada.     The  English  naval  commanders  flocked 


DEATH   OF   SIR   WALTER   RALEIGH.  43 

home  from  every  part  of  the  world  to  defend  their  native   CHAP. 

land,  and  to  battle  for  the  Protestant  religion.     English  1 

seamanship  and  bravery  completely  triumphed.  From  1588. 
that  hour  the  prestige  of  Spain  on  the  ocean  was  gone — it 
passed  to  England.  It  is  not  strange  that  in  such  exciting 
times  the  poor  colonists  of  Koanoke  were  overlooked  or  for- 
gotten. As  soon  as  the  danger  was  passed,  aid  was  sent ; 
but  it  came  too  late  :  not  a  vestige  of  the  colony  was  to  be 
found  ;  death  had  done  its  work,  whether  by  the  h^nd  of 
the  savage,  or  by  disease,  none  can  tell.  What  may  have 
been  their  sufferings  is  veiled  in  darkness.  Eighty  years 
after,  the  English  were  told  by  the  Indians  that  the  Hat- 
teras  tribe  had  adopted  the  colonists  into  their  number. 
The  probability  is  that  they  were  taken  prisoners  and  car- 
ried far  into  the  interior.  A  few  years  before  Sir  Francis 
Drake  had  broken  up  the  Spanish  settlement  at  St. 
Augustine.  Thus,  one  hundred  years  after  the  first  voy- 
age of  Columbus,  the  continent  was  once  more  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Ked  Men. 

Sir  Walter  Ealeigh  had  now  expended  nearly  all  his 
fortune  ;  yet,  when  he  saw  no  prospect  of  ever  deriving 
benefit  from  his  endeavors,  he  sent  several  times,  at  his 
own  expense,  to  seek  for  the  lost  colonists  and  to  render 
them  aid.  Sir  Walter's  genius  and  perseverance  prepared  .  ^ 
the  way  for  the  successful  settlement  of  Virginia  ;  he  had 
sown  the  seed,  others  enjoyed  the  harvest.  The  remainder 
of  his  life  was  clouded  by  misfortune.  On  the  accession 
of  James  I.,  he  was  arraigned  on  a  frivolous  charge 
of  high  treason  ;  a  charge  got  up  by  his  enemies,  never 
substantiated,  and  never  believed  by  those  who  condemned 
him.  On  his  trial  he  defended  himself  with  a  dignity  and 
consciousness  of  innocence  that  excited  the  admiration  of 
the  world  and  put  to  shame  his  enemies.  His  remaining 
property  was  taken  from  him  by  the  king,  and  for  thirteen 
years  he  was  left  to  languish  in  the  Tower  of  London ; 

fe --;  ' **    %L^ 

» 


r  -V 

*^ 

44  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITEP    STATES. 


James  not  yet  daring  to  order  the  execution  of  the  patriot 
statesman,  who  was  an  ornament  to  England  and  tl^e  age 


1588.  In  which  he  lived.  After  the  lapse  of  sixteen  years  the 
hour  came,,  and  Sir  Walter  met  death  on  the  scaffold  with 
the  calmness  and  dignity  of  an  innocent  and  Christian 
man. 

m 

"r-     -  '  '&~^ A 

* 

/        £ 
,t         ** 


m 

*    ,•  '  rv* 


* 


** 


«  -  -i 


* 


*£     '  •      '      '  * 

•*".  .  *          .  ••«E?  2  ^ 

CHAPTEKIX.  4l/ 

»  V" 

THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   VIRGINIA. 

London  and  Plymouth  Companies. — King  James'  Laws. — The  Yoyage  and 
Arrival. — Jamestown. — John  Smith ;  his  Character,  Energy,  Captivity, 
and  Release. — Misery  of  the  Colonists. — New  Emigrants. — Lord  Dela- 
ware.— Sir  Thomas  Gates. — Pocahontas ;  her  Capture  and  Marriage. — 
Yeardley. — First  Legislative  Assembly. 

THE  bold  and  energetic  Elizabeth  was  succeeded  by  the  CHAP, 

timid  and  pedantic  James  I.     To  sustain  herself  against 

the  power  of  Spain,  she  had  raised  a  strong  military  force,  1606. 
both  on  sea  and  land.  But  James  had  an  instinctive 
dread  of  gunpowder,  he  was  in  favor  of  peace  at  all 
hazards,  even  at  the  expense  of  national  honor.  He  dis- 
banded the  greater  portion  of  the  army,  and  dismissed 
many  of  those  employed  in  the  navy.  These  men,  left 
without  regular  employment,  were  easily  induced  to  try 
their  fortunes  as  colonists  in  Virginia.  They  were  not 
good  material,  as  we  shall  see,  but  they  prepared  the  way 
for  better  men,  and  ultimately  for  success.  Sir  Walter 
Kaleigh  having  sacrificed  his  fortune  in  fruitless  attempts 
to  found  a  colony,  had  induced  some  gentlemen  to  form  a 
company,  and  engage  in  the  enterprise.  To  this  com- 
pany he  had  transferred  his  patent,  with  all  its  privileges, 
on  very  liberal  terms.  The  company  manifested  but  little  £  • 
energy  :  they  had  neither  the  enthusiasm  nor  the  liberality 
of  Sir  Walter. 

England  claimed  the  territory  from  Cape  Fear,  in  North 
Carolina,  to  Newfoundland,  and  to  the  West  indefinitely.  - 


I 


i 

46  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

• 

CHAP.   This  territory  King  James  divided  into  two  parts  :   South 

1_  Virginia,  extending  from  Cape  Fear  to  the  Potomac  ;  and 

1606.*  North  Virginia,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  to  New- 
foundland. There  were  now  formed  two  companies  :  one 
known  as  the  London  Company,  principally  composed  of 
"  noblemen,  gentlemen,  and  merchants,"  residing  in  Lon- 
don ;  the  other  the  Plymouth  Company,  composed  of 
"  knights,  gentlemen,  and  merchants,"  living  in  the  West 
of  I^gland.  To  the  London  'Company  James  granted 
South  Virginia,  to  the  Plymouth  Company  North  Vir- 
ginia. The  region  between  the  Potomac  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Hudson  was  to  be  neutral  ground,  on  which  the 
companies  were  at  liberty  to  form  settlements  within 
fifty  miles  of  their  respective  boundaries.  The  London 
*A—  Company  was  the  first  to  send  emigrants. 

King  James  was  enamored  of  what  he  called  king- 
craft. He  believed  that  a  king  had  a  divine  right  to  make 
and  unmake  laws  at  his  own  pleasure,  and  was  bound  by 
no  obligation, — not  even  to  keep  his  own  word.  In  main- 
taining the  former  of  these  kingly  rights,  James  sometimes 
found  difficulty;  he  was  more  successful  in  exercising  the 
latter.  He  tpok  upon  himself  the  authority  and  labor  of 
framing  laws  for  the  colony  about  to  sail.  These  laws  are 
*  a  fair  specimen  of  his  kingcraft.  They  did  not  grant  a 

single  civil  privilege  to  the  colonists,  who  had  no  vote  in 
choosing  their  own  magistrates  ;  but  were  to  be  governed 
by  two  councils,  both  appointed  by  the  king, — one  resid- 
ing in  England,  the  other  in  the  colony.  In  religious  mat- 
ters, differences  of  opinion  were  forbidden  ;  all  must  con- 
form to  the  rites  of  the  church  of  England.  The  Indians 
were  to  be  treated  kindly,  and  if  possible,  converted  to 
.  g  Christianity. 

1607.  Three  ships  were  sent  with  one  hundred  and  five  emi- 
grants ;  of  the  whole  number,  not  twenty  were  agricul- 
turists or  mechanics, — there  was  not  a  family  nor  a  woman 
in  the  company.  The  great  majority  were  gentlemen,  a 


i-   ,  *ti;*' 

SETTLEMENT    OF    JAMESTOWN.  47 

« 

term  then  applied  to  those  who  had  no  regular  employment,   CHAP. 
but  spent  their  time  in  idleness  and  dissipation. 

The  names  of  those  who  were  to  form  the  governing*  1607. 
council,  together  with  their  instructions,  were,  by  order  of 
the  king,  foolishly  sealed  up  in  a  box,  there  to  remain  until 
they  were  ready  to  form  a  government.  Thus  when  dis- 
sensions arose  on  the  voyage,  there  was  no  legal  authority 
to  restore  harmony.  £ 

Captain  Newport,  who  commanded  the  expedition, 
came  first  upon  the  coast  of  North  Carolina,  intending  to 
visit  the  island  of  Koanoke,  the  scene  of  Kaleigh's  failures, ' 
but  a  storm  suddenly  arose,  and  fortunately  drove  him 
north  into  Chesapeake  bay.  The  little  fleet  soon  entered 
a  large  river,  and  explored  its  stream  for  fifty  miles — then 
on  the  thirteenth  of  May,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  May 
seven,  the  members  of  the  colony  landed,  and  determined 
to  form  a  settlement.  The  river  was  named  James,  and 
the  settlement  JAMESTOWN,  in  honor  of  the  king  ;  while  the 
capes  at  the  entrance  of  the  bay,  were  named  Charles  and 
Henry,  in  honor  of  his  sons. 

In  every  successful  enterprise,  we  observe  the  power  of 
some  one  leading  spirit.  In  this  case,  the  man  worthy  the 
confidence  of  all,  because  of  his  knowledge,  and  natural 
superiority  of  mind,  was  Captain  John  Smith,  justly  styled 
the  "Father  of  Virginia."  Though  but  thirty  years  of 
age,  he  had  acquired  much  knowledge  of  the  world.  He 
had  travelled  over  the  western  part  of  Europe,  and  in  Egypt; 
had  been  a  soldier  in  the  cause  of  freedom  in  Holland  ;  had  ^ff- 
fought  against  the  Turks  in  Hungary,  where  he  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  sent  to  Constantinople  as  a  slave.  He  was 
rescued  from  slavery  by  a  Turkish  lady,  conveyed  to  the 
Crimea,  where  he  was  ill-treated  ;  his  proud  spirit  resisted, 
he  slew  his  oppressor  and  escaped,  wandered  across  the 
continent,  and  returned  to  England  just  as  plans  were 
maturing  to  colonize  Virginia.  He  entered  into  the  enter- 
prise with  his  habitual  energy.  His  cool  courage,  his 


, 

48  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Ql 

CHAP,   knowledge  of  human  nature,  civilized  and  savage, — but 

above  all,  his  honesty  and  common  sense,  fitted  him  for  the 

1607. f  undertaking. 

The  superiority  of  Smith  excited  the  envy  and  jealousy 
%  those  who  expected  to  be  named  members  of  the  coun- 
cil, when  the  mysterious  box  should  be  opened.     On  false 
and  absurd  charges  he  was  arrested  and  placed  in  confine- 
*  '  'A        ment.    The  box  was  opened — the  king  had  appointed  him 
one  of  the  council.     An  effort  was  made  to  exclude  him, 
but  he  demanded  a  trial ;  his  accusers,  unable  to  substan- 
IHtiate  their  charges,  withdrew  them,  and  he  took  his  seat. 
Wingfield,  an  avaricious  and  unprincipled  man,  was  chosen 
..  president  of  the  council  and  governor  of  the  colony. 

When  these  difficulties  were  arranged,  Newport  and 
Smith,  accompanied  by  some  twenty  men,  spent  three 
weeks  in  exploring  the  neighboring  rivers  and  country. 
They  visited  Powhatan,  the  principal  Indian  chief  in  the 
vicinity — "  a  man  about  sixty  years  of  age,  tall,  sour,  and 
athletic/'  His  capital  of  twelve  wigwams,  was  situated  at 
the  falls  of  James  river,  near  where  Richmond  now  stands. 
His  tribe  seems  to  have  been  fearful  and  suspicious  of  the 
intruding  white  men  from  the  very  first — impressed,  it  may 
be,  with  a  foreboding  of  evil  to  come. 

Soon  after,  Newport  sailed  for  home,  leaving  the  colo- 
June.  nists  in  a  wretched  condition.  Their  provisions  nearly  all 
spoiled,  and  they  too  idle  to  provide  against  the  effects  of 
the  climate — much  sickness  prevailed,  and  more  than  half 
the  company  died  before  winter.  To  add  to  their  distress, 
it  was  discovered  that  Wingfield  had  been  living  upon 
their  choicest  stores,  and  that  he  .intended  to  seize  the 
remainder  of  their  provisions,  and  escape  to  the  West 
Indies.  The  council  deposed  him,  and  elected  Eatcliffe 
president.  The  change  was  not  for  the  better  :  he  was 
not  more  honest  than  Wingfield,  and  mentally  less  fit 
for  the  station.  In  this  emergency  the  control  of  affairs 
passed  by  tacit  consent  into  the  hands  of  Smith.  He  knew 


!•< 


•:...  !. 

v.  ^^         ^  .         •'•"-'•.'  •" 

SMITH    A    PRISONER.  49 

"^^ 

^* 

from  the  first  what  was  needed  for  the  colony.     As  it  was   CHAP. 

IX 

now  too  late  in  the  season  to  obtain  food  of  their  own  rais-   1_ 

ing,  he  had  recourse  to  trading  with  the  Indians  for  corn.    160V. 
Toward  the  close  of  autumn,  an  abundance  of  wild  fowl 
furnished  additional  provisions.     The  colony  thus  provided    Dec. 
for,  Smith   further  explored   the  "neighboring  rivers  and 
country.    In  one  of  these  expeditions  he  ascended  a  branch 
of  the  James  river,  and  leaving  the  boat  in  care  of  his  men,        4    ^ 
took  with  him  his  Indian  guide,  and  struck  out  into  the 
forest.     Finding  himself  pursued  by  the  Indians,  he  fas- 
tened his  guide  to  his  arm  as  a  shield  against  their  arrows,^ 
and  defended  himself  with  great  bravery,  but  at  length 
sinking  in  a  swamp,  he  was  taken  prisoner.     His  captors  , 
regarded  him  with  strange  wonder  ;  his  cool  courage  and 
self-possession  struck  them  with  awe.     He,  aware  of  the     ^ 
simplicity  and   inquisitiveness   of  the    savage  character, 
showed  them  his  pocket  compass.     They  wondered  at  the 
motion  of  the  needle,  and  at  the  strange  transparent  cover, 
which  secured  it  from  their  touch.     Was  their  captive  a 
superior  being  ? — was  he  friendly  to  themselves  ? — how 
should  they  dispose  of  him  ? — were  questions  that  now  per- 
plexed them.     They  permitted  him  to  send  a  letter  to    1608. 
Jamestown.     The  fact  that  he  could  impress  his  thoughts 
upon  paper,  and  send  them  far  away,  they  regarded  as 
strong  proof  of  his  superiority.    He  was  led  from  place  to 
place,  to  be  gazed  at  by  the  wondering  natives   of  the 
forest.  For  three  days  they  performed  powwows,  or  religious 
ceremonies,  in  order  to  learn  from  the  spirit  world  some- 
thing of  his  nature  and  intentions.     Finally,  he  was  sent      4 
to  Powhatan,  to  be  disposed  of  as  he  should  decide.    The 
Indian  chief  received  him  with  a  great  display  of  savage 
pomp,  but  decided  that  he  must  die.     Preparations  were 
made,  but  the  eventful  life  of  Smith  was  not  destined  to 
be  closed  by  the  war-club  of  the  savage.     The  heart  of 
Pocahontas,  a  young  daughter  of  Powhatan,  a  girl  of  ten 
or  twelve  years  of  age,  was-  touched  with  sympathy  and 

* 
t  • 


' 

50  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


* 


CHAP.  pity.     She  pleaded  with  her  father  for  his  life.     She  clung 
tenderly  to  him  as  he  bowed  his  head  to  receive  the  fatal 


IX. 


1608.  stroke.  Her  interposition  was  received  by  the  savages  as 
an  indication  of  the  will  of  heaven,  and  the  life  of  Smith 
was  spared.  Her  people  have  passed  away — most  of  their 
names  are  forgotten,  but  the  name  of  Pocahontas,  and  the 
story  of  her  generous  deed,  will  ever  be  honored  and  re- 
4  0  membered. 

The  Indians  now  wished  to  adopt  Smith  into  their 
number  :  they  strove  to  induce  him  to  join  them  against 
wfche  English.  He  dissuaded  them  from  an  attack  upon 
Jamestown,  by  representing  to  them  the  wonderful  effects 
of  the  "  big  guns."  After  an  absence  of  seven  weeks,  he 
JL  jaru  was  permitted  to  return.  He  had  obtained  much  valuable 
information  of  the  country,  of  its  inhabitants,  their  lan- 
guage and  customs. 

He  found  the  colony  reduced  in  number  to  forty — in 
want  of  provisions,  and  in  anarchy  and  confusion,  while 
some  were  making  preparations  to  desert  in  the  pinnace  ; 
this  he  prevented  at  the  risk  of  his  life.  The  famishing 
colonists  were  partly  sustained  through  the  winter  by  the 
generous  Pocahontas,  who  with  her  companions  almost 
every  day  brought  them  baskets  of  corn. 

In  the  spring,  Newport  returned  with  another  com- 
pany of  emigrants  ;  like  the  first,  "  vagabond  gentlemen," 
idlers,  and  gold-hunters.  These  gold-hunters  lighted  upon 
some  earth,  glittering  with  yellow  mica  ;  they  thought  it 
•  v  golden  ore.  Everything  else  was  neglected;  the  entire 
company  engaged  in  loading  the  ships  with  this  useless 
earth.  What  a  blessing  to  England  and  the  colony  that 
it  was  not  gold  ! 

While  the  people  of  Jamestown  were  thus  foolishly  em- 
ployed, Smith  explored  the  harbors  and  rivers  of  Chesa- 
peake bay,  and  established  friendly  relations  with  the 
Indians  along  its  shores.  From  them  he  learned  of  the 
Mohawks,  who  "  made  war  upon  all  the  world."  On  his 


UNWORTHY    EMIGRANTS.  51 

return.,  lie  was,  for  the  first  time,  formally  elected  Presi-   CHAP. 

dent   of  the   Council.     Industry   was   now   more  wisely  L_ 

directed  ;  hut  in  the  autumn  came  another  company  of    1608. 
idle  and  useless  emigrants.     Smith,  indignant  that  his 
efforts  to  improve  the  colony  should  thus  he  frustrated, 
wrote  to  the  council  to  send  him  hut  a  few  hushandmen 
and  mechanics,  and  "  diggers  up  of  trees'  roots,"  rather 
than  a  thousand  such  men  as  had  been  sent.     The  com-       • 
plaint  was  just.     During  two  years  they  had  not  "brought 
under  cultivation  more  than  forty  acres  of  land, 
the  numher  of  ahle-hodied  men  was  more  than  two 
dred.     The  energetic  arm  of  Smith  was  soon  felt.     The 
first  law  he  made  and  enforced  was,  that  "  He  who  would 
not  work  should  not  eat ;"  the  second,  that  "  Each  man 
for  six  days  in  the  week  should  work  six  hours   each    j^ 
day." 

In  England,  ahout  this  time,  an  unusual  interest  was    May, 

"1  ( '  H'O 

manifested  in  the  colony  ;  subscriptions  were  made  to  its 
stock,  and  the  charter  materially  changed.  The  council 
was  now  chosen  hy  the  stockholders  of  the  company,  in- 
stead of  being  appointed  hy  the  king.  This  council  ap- 
pointed the  governor,  hut  he  could  rule  with  absolute 
authority.  Not  a  single  privilege  was  yet  granted  the 
colonist :  his  property,  his  liberty,  his  life  were  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  governor  ;  and  he  the  agent  of  a  soulless  cor- 
poration, whose  only  object  was  gain.  The  company  had 
expended  money,  but  the  course  they  themselves  pursued 
prevented  their  receiving  a  return.  Instead  of  sending  the  v 
industrious  and  virtuous,  they  sent  idlers  and  libertines  ; 
instead  of  farmers  and  mechanics,  they  sent  gold-seekers 
and  bankrupt  gentlemen.  Instead  of  offering  a  reward  to 
industry  they  gave  a  premium  to  idleness,  by  making  the 
proceeds  of  their  labor  go  into  a  common  stock. 

The  new  charter  excited  so  great  an  interest  in  the 
cause,  that  a  fleet  of  nine  ships  was  soon  under  way,  con- 
taining more  than  five  hundred  emigrants,  and,  for  'the 


52  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   first  time,  domestic  animals  and  fowls.     Lord  Delaware,  a 
'__  nobleman  of  excellent  character,  was  appointed  governor 

1609.  for  life.     As  he  was  not  prepared  to  come  with  this  com- 
pany, he  nominated  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  Sir  George  Somers, 
and  Newport,  to  act  as  his  commissioners  until  his  own 
arrival.     Seven  of  the  vessels  came  safely,  but  the  ship  on 
which  the  commissioners  embarked,  with   another,  was 
wrecked  on  one  of  the  Bermuda  islands. 

This  company  of  emigrants  appears  to  have  been  worse 
than  any  before.  As  the  commissioners  had  failed  to  reach 
'the  colony,  these  worthies  refused  to  submit  to  the  author- 
ity of  Smith,  the  acting  President,  contending  that  there 
was  no  legalized  government.  But  these  men,  who  "  would 
rule  all  or  ruin  all,"  found  in  him  a  determined  foe  to  dis- 
order and  idleness  ;  he  compelled  them  to  submit.  Un- 
fortunately, just  at  this  time,  he  was  injured  by  an  acci- 
dental explosion  of  gunpowder,  and  obliged  to  return  to 
England  for  surgical  aid.  He  delegated  his  authority  to 
George  Percy,  a  brother  of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland. 
And  now  the  man  who  had  more  than  once  saved  the 
colony  from  utter  ruin,  bade  farewell  to  Virginia  forever  ; 
from  his  arduous  labors  he  derived  no  benefit,  but  ex- 
Oct.  perienced  at  the  hands  of  the  company  the  basest  in- 
gratitude. 

During  the  administration  of  Smith  the  Indians  were 
held  in  check ;  he  inspired  them  with  confidence  and 
respect.  When  the  colonists  "beat  them,  stole  their 
+  corn,  and  robbed  their  gardens,"  they  complained  to  him, 
and  he  protected  their  rights.  After  his  departure,  they 
formed  a  plan  to  cut  off  the  white  men  at  a  single  blow ; 
but  Pocahontas,  that  good  genius  of  the  English,  came  at 
night,  in  a  driving  storm,  to  Jamestown,  revealed  the  plot, 
and  saved  the  colony. 

1610.  '      .What  the  Indians  failed  to  do,  vice  and  famine  nearly 
accomplished.    In  six  months  after  the  departure  of  Smith, 
of  the  four  hundred  and  ninety  colonists  only  sixty  were 


••• 

^  ;  *  4 


•  EMIGRANTS   AND    SUPPLIES.  53 

living,  and  they  would  have  perished  in  a  few  days  had   CHAP. 

they  not  obtained  relief.     Sir  Thomas  Gates,  and  those 

who  were  wrecked  with  him,   found  means   to  build  a    1611. 
small  vessel,  in  which,  at  this  crisis,  they  reached  James    ^jy 
river.     They  were  astonished   at   the   desolation.     They 
all  determined  to  abandon  the  place  and  sail  to  New- 
foundland,  and  there   distribute   themselves  among  the 
fishermen.     They  dropped  down  the  river  with  the  tide, 
leaving  the  place  without  a  regret.     What  was  their  sur- 
prise the  next  morning  to  meet  Lord  Delaware  coming  in 
with  more  emigrants  and  abundance  of  supplies.    They  re- 
turned with  a  favoring  wind  to  Jamestown  the  same  night. 

From  this  tenth  day  of  June,  one  thousand  six  hun-  1611. 
dred  and  eleven,  the  colony  began,  under  more  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, to  revive.  Other  influences  moulded  their 
characters.  They  acknowledged  Gk>d  in  all  their  ways, 
and  their  paths  were  directed  by  His  providential  care. 
Under  the  just  administration  of  the  excellent  Delaware, 
factions  were  unknown  ;  each  one  was  disposed  to  do  his 
duty.  Before  they  commenced  the  labors  of  the  day,  they 
met  in  their  little  church  to  implore  the  blessing  of 
heaven.  The  effects  were  soon  visible  in  the  order  and 
comfort  of  the  community.  They  cheered  their  friends  in 
England  :  "  Doubt  not,"  said  they,  "  God  will  raise  our 
state  and  build  his  Church  in  this,  excellent  clime."  In 
about  a  year,  failing  health  compelled  Lord  Delaware  to 
return  to  England.  He  left  Percy,  Smith's  successor,  as 
his  representative. 

The  next  year  Sir  Thomas  Gates  arrived,  with  six  Aug., 
ships  and  three  hundred  emigrants  ;  a  majority  of  whom 
were  of  a  better  class,  temperate  and  industrious  in  their 
habits.  A  measure  was  now  introduced  which  produced 
the  greatest  effect  on  the  well-being  of  the  colony  :  to  each 
man  was  given  a  portion  of  land,  which  he  was  to  culti- 
vate for  himself.  The  good  result  of  this  was  soon  seen  in 
the  abundance  of  provisions.  The  colony  became  so  pros- 


54  ,  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  perous  that  some  of  the  neighboring  tribes  of  Indians 
wished  to  be  "  called  Englishmen/'  and  to  be  subjects  of 

1612.  King  James.  Some  of  the  colonists,  however,  manifested 
neither  gratitude  nor  justice  toward  the  natives.  A  neigh- 
boring chief  was  won  by  the  gift  of  a  copper  kettle  to  be- 
tray into  the  hands  of  Captain  Argall,  Pocahontas,  that 
faithful  friend  of  the  colony.  Argall  had  the  meanness  to 
demand  of  her  father  a  ransom.  For  three  months  the 
indignant  Powhatan  did  not  deign  to  reply.  Meantime 
Pocahontas  received  religious  instruction  :  her  susceptible 
heart  was  moved,  she  became  a  Christian  and  was  baptized  ; 
she  was  the  first  of  her  race  "  who  openly  renounced  her 
country's  idolatry."  John  Kolfe,  a  pious  young  man,  of 
"  honest  and  discreet  carriage,"  became  interested  in  the 
youthful  princess-;  he  won  her  affections  and  asked  her  in 
marriage.  Powhatan  was  delighted.  This  marriage  con- 
ciliated him  and  his  tribe,  and  indeed  gave  general  satis- 
faction, except  to  King  James,  who  was  greatly  scandal- 
ized that  any  man,  but  one  of  royal  blood,  should  presume 
to  marry  a  princess.  Kolfe  took  his  wife  to  England, 
where  she  was  much  caressed.  She  never  again  saw  her 
native  land.  Just  as  sn%  was  leaving  England  for  Vir- 
ginia she  died,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- two.  She  left 
one  son,  whose  posterity  count  it  an  honor  to  have  de- 
scended from  this  noble  Indian  girl. 

$S  Sir  Thomas  Dale  introduced  laws,  by  which  private 
individuals  could  become  proprietors  of  the  soil.  The  land- 
holders directed  their  attention  almost  exclusively  to  the 
raising  of  tobacco,  which  became  so  profitable  an  article  of 
export,  that  it  was  used  as  the  currency  of  the  colony.  At 
one  time,  the  public  squares  and  streets  of  Jamestown 
were  planted  with  tobacco,  and  the  raising  of  corn  so 
much  neglected,  that  there  was  danger  of  a  famine. 

1616.  After  a  rule  of  two  years,  Dale  resigned  and  returned 
to  England,  leaving  George  Yeardley  as  deputy-governor. 
During  his  administration,  industry  and  prosperity  con- 


-y:,.    '• 

HOUSE    OF    BURGESSES.  55 

tinued  to  increase.      Under  the  influence  of  a  faction,  CHAP. 

IX 

Yeardley  was  superseded  by  the  tyrannical  Argall,  but  in  ' 


two  years  his  vices  and  extortion,  in  connection  with  frauds    Jan.. 
upon  the  company,  procured  his  dismissal,  and  the  people 
once  more  breathed  freely  under  the  second  administration 
of  the  benevolent  and  popular  Yeardley. 

Although  the  colony  had  been  in  existence  twelve 
years,  it  contained  not  more  than  six  hundred  persons,  and 
they  appeared  to  have  no  settled  intention  of  making  the 
country  their  permanent  home.  Efforts  were  still  made 
to  send  emigrants,  twelve  hundred  of  whom  came  in  on%.  ,  $ 
year,  and  every  means  were  used  to  attach  them  to  the 
soil.  At  different  times  the  company  sent  over  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  respectable  young  women,  who  be- 
came wives  in  the  colony,  their  husbands  paying  the  ex- 
pense of  their  passage.  This  was  paid  in  tobacco,  the  cost 
of  each  passage  varying  from  one  hundred  and  twenty  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  It  was  deemed  dishonorable 
not  to  pay  a  debt  contracted  for  a  wife ;  and  to  aid  the 
husbands,  the  government,  in  giving  employment,  preferred 
married  men.  Thus  surrounded  by  the  endearments  of  , 
home  and  domestic  ties,  the  colonists  were  willing  to  remain 
in  the  New  World. 

Governor  Yeardley  was  "  commissioned  by  the  com- 
pany "  to  grant  the  people  the  right  to  assist  in  making 
their  own  laws,  for  which  purpose  they  could  hold  an 
Assembly  once  a  year.  In  July,  one  thousand  six  hundred 
and  nineteen,  met  the  House  of  Burgesses,  consisting  of 
twenty-two  members  chosen  by  the  people.  A  peculiar 
interest  is  attached  to  this  first  Legislative  Assembly  in 
the  New  World.  The  laws  enacted  exhibit  the  spirit  of 
the  people.  "  Forasmuche,"  said  the  Assembly,  "as  man's 
affaires  doe  little  prosper  when  God's  service  is  neglected, 
we  invite  Mr.  Bucke,  the  minister,  to  open  our  sessions 
by  prayer, — that  it  would  please  God  to  sanctifie  all  our 
proceedinges  to  his  owne  glory  and  the  good  of  this  plan- 
tation." They  passed  laws  against  vices,  and  in  favor  of 


* 


56  HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,   industry  and  good  order.     "  In  detestation  of  idleness," 

the  idler  was  "to  be  sold  to  a  master  for  wages  till  he 

1619.  shewe  apparent  signes  of  amendment."  Laws  were  made 
against  playing  'of  dice  and  cards,  drunkenness,  and  other 
v%es  ;  and  to  promote  the  "  planting  of  eorne,"  of  vines, 
of  mulberry  trees,  and  the  raising  of  flax  and  hemp.  They 
made  provision  "towards  the  erecting  of  the  University 
and  College."  This  was  designed  for  the  education  of 
their  own  children,  as  well  as  for  "  the  most  towardly  boyes 
in  witt  and  graces"  of  the  "  natives'  children."  The  gov- 
4ernor  and  council  sat  with  the  Assembly,  and  took  part  in 
its  deliberations.  It  was  granted  that  a  "  generall  Assem- 
bly should  be  held  yearly  once,"  "  to  ordain  whatsoever 
laws  and  orders  would  be  thought  good  and  profitable  for 
our  subsistence."  l 

This  right  of  the  people  to  have  a  voice  in  making 
their  own  laws,  was  rigidly  maintained  until  it  found  its 
full  fruition  in  the  institutions  established  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  afterward  by  the  [Revolution.  Emigration 
from  England  was  greatly  stimulated  ;  in  a  few  years  the 
population  numbered  nearly  four  thousand,  while  the 
inducements  to  industry  and  general  prosperity  increased 
in  the  same  proportion.  The  company  granted  a  written 
constitution,  under  which  the  people  could  have  a  legisla- 
tive assembly  of  their  own  choosing.  It  was  necessary 
that  the  laws  passed  by  the  colonial  legislature  should  be 
sanctioned  by  the  company  in  England.  As  a  check  to 
royal  interference,  no  laws  emanating  from  the  court 
could  be  valid,  unless  ratified  by  the  House  of  Burgesses. 
Thus  it  continued  until  the  dissolution  of  the  London  com- 
pany, when  King  James  arbitrarily  took  away  its  charter. 

1  Art.  IX.,  Vol.  III.,  Part  I.  Second  Series  of  Collections  of  the  New 
York  Historical  Society.  The  "  Reporte"  of  the  proceedings  of  this  "First 
Assembly  of  Virginia,"  was  discovered  among  the  papers  of  the  British 
State  Paper  Office.  All  trace  of  it  had  been  lost  for  perhaps  more  than  two 
centuries ;  at  length  a  search,  instituted  by  Bancroft  the  historian,  was  suc- 
cessful. 


m 


CHAPTEE   X. 

COLONIZATION  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

First  voyages  to. — Plymouth  Company. — Explorations  of  John  Smith. — The 
Church  of  England. — The  Puritans. — Congregation  of  John  Kobinson. — 
"  Pilgrims"  in  Holland. — Arrangements  to  emigrate. — The  Voyage. — 
A  Constitution  framed  on  board  the  May-Flower. — Landing  at  Plym- 
outh,— Sufferings. — Indians,  Treaties  with. — "  Weston's  Men." — 
Thanksgiving. — Shares  of  the  London  Partners  purchased. — Democratic 
Government. 

THE  usual  route  to  America  had  been  by  the  Canaries  and   CHAP. 

the  West  Indies.     Bartholomew  Gosnold  was  the  first  ___ 

navigator  who  attempted  to  find  a  shorter  one,  by  sailing  1502. 
directly  across  the  Atlantic.  His  effort  was  crowned  with 
success  :  after  a  voyage  of  seven  weeks,  he  came  upon  the 
coast  in  the  vicinity  of  Nahant.  Coasting  along  to  the 
south,  he  landed  upon  a  sandy  point,  which  he  named  Cape 
Cod  ;  and  passing  round  it  he  discovered  Martha's  Vine- 
yard, and  several  other  islands  in  the  vicinity.  While  he 
explored  the  coast  he  also  traded  with  the  natives,  and 
when  he  had  obtained  a  cargo  of  sassafras  root,  which  in 
that  day  was  much  valued  for  its  medicinal  qualities,  he 
sailed  for  home.  The  voyage  consumed  but  five  weeks, 
thus  demonstrating  the  superiority  of  the  new  route. 

Gosnold,  who  saw  the  country  in  the  months  of  May 
and  June,  was  enraptured  with  its  appearance — its  forests 
blooming  with  shrubs  and  flowers ;  its  springs  of  pure  fresh 
water,  and  little  lakes;  its  beautiful  islands  nestling  among 
equally  beautiful  bays  along  the  coast.  His  description, 


. 

58  HISTOKY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,    together  witK  the  shortness  and  safety  of  the  voyage,  led 
'      to  many  visits  and  minor  discoveries  by  Martin  Pring  and 
1GOT.    others,  all  along  the  coast  of  New  England. 

The  Plymouth  Company,  of  which  mention  has  been 
made,  attempted  to  form  a  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Kennebec  in  Maine.  The  rigors  of  a  severe  winter,  and  the 
death  of  their  president;  so  discouraged  the  colonists,  that 
they  abandoned  the  enterprise,  and  returned  to  England. 

A  few  years  afterward,  Smith,  whose  valuable  services 
we  have  seen  in  Virginia,  undertook  to  explore  the  coun- 
try. He  constructed  a  map  of  the  eastern  portion,  and 
noted  the  prominent  features  of  the  territory.  The  coun- 
1614.  try  he  named  New  England — a  name  confirmed  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  afterward  Charles  I.  After  Smith  left 
for  England,  his  associate,  a  captain  named  Hunt,  treacher- 
ously enticed  twenty-seven  of  the  natives  with  their  chief, 
Squanto,  on  board  his  ship,  then  set  sail.  He  sold  these 
victims  of  his  avarice  into  slavery  in  Spain.  A  few  of 
them  were  purchased  by  some  friars,  who  kindly  taught 
them,  in  order  to  send  them  back  as  missionaries  to  their 
countrymen.  Among  this  number  was  Squanto. 

In  this  age,  we  are  unable  to  appreciate  fully  the  trials 
and  sufferings  experienced  by  the  explorers  and  first  settlers 
of  this  continent.  When  we  remember  the  frailty  of  the 
vessels  in  which  their  voyages  were  made,  the  perils  of  the 
unexplored  ocean,  the  dangers  of  its  unknown  coasts,  the 
hostility  of  the  wily  savage,  the  diseases  of  an  untried 
climate,  the  labor  of  converting  the  primitive  forests  into 
cultivated  fields,  we  may  well  be  astonished  that  such  dif- 
ficulties were  ever  overcome. 

We  have  now  to  narrate  the  causes  which  led  to  the 
settlement  of  New  England.  Previous  to  the  time  of 
Henry  VIII.  the  clergy  and  government  of  England  had 
been  in  religious  matters  the  implicit  subjects  of  the  church 
of  Kome.  While  this  may  be  said  of  the  clergy  it  was  dif- 
ferent with  great  numbers  of  the  people.  The  spirit  of 
*  • 


ft 

i 


THE   EXILES    RETURN    HOME.  59 

j 

OT^H- »!.  i 

religious  truth  was  pervading  their  minds  and  moulding  CBAP. 

their  character.     They  read  the  Bible  in  their  own  Ian-  |_ 

guage,  discussed  freely  its  truths,  and  compared  them  with  1525. 
the  doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Komish  church.  The 
Pope  claimed  to  be  the  temporal  and  spiritual  head  of  the 
church,  and  by  virtue  of  this  claim  to  depose  princes  or 
absolve  subjects  from  their  allegiance.  Henry  wished  to 
be  divorced  from  his  queen  in  order  to  marry  another  ;  but 
the  Pope,  to  whom  he  applied,  as  the  highest  authority, 
hesitated  to  dissolve  the  marriage.  The  angry  king,  when 
threatened  with  excommunication,  repudiated  the  Pope 
and  his  authority,  and  declared  the  English  church  inde-  1534. 
pendent  of  that  of  Kome.  Parliament  afterward  confirmed 
by  law  what  the  king  in  a  fit  of  anger  had  done,  and 
recognized  him  as  the  head  of  the  church  in  his  own  do- 
minions. Thus  England,  by  the  act  of  her  own  govern- 
ment, became  Protestant.  True  reformation  in  religion 
does  not  apply  so  much  to  its  external  form,  as  to  its  effect 
upon  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men.  That  portion  of 
the  English  people  who  had  learned  this  truth  from  the 
Word  of  God,  recognized  no  human  being  as  the  head  of  his 
church  ;  they  received  Christ  alone  as  the  Head  of  his  own 
church,  and  they  refused  to  acknowledge  the  pretensions 
of  the  king.  For  the  maintenance  of  this  belief  they  were  1553. 
persecuted  through  a  series  of  years  :  during  the  reign  of 
Henry  for  not  admitting  his  authority  in  spiritual  matters  ; 
during  the  reign  of  his  daughter  Mary,  still  more  fiercely, 
for  denying  the  authority  of  the  church  of  Kome.  Many 
at  the  stake  sealed  their  faith  with  their  lives,  and  many 
fled  to  foreign  lands. 

After  the  death  of  Mary  the  persecuting  fires  were  ex- 
tinguished, and  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  was  the  signal 
for  the  exiles  to  return  home.  They  came  back  with  more 
enlightened  views  of  the  rights  of  conscience  and  of  free 
inquiry.  Of  these  some  were  Presbyterians,  some  Con- 
gregationalists,  and  others  members  of  the  Established 


**  Jfc 


60  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

JBfcf  *^4«plM£ 

CHAP.    Church.     They  demanded  a  more  pure  and  spiritual  wor- 

L_  ship  than  that  of  the  church  of  England.     For  this  they 

1558.  were  in  derision  called  PURITANS — a  name  which  they 
soon  made  respected,  even  by  their  enemies.  Elizabeth 
was  a  Protestant,  but  she  was  far  from  being  a  Puritan. 
She  wished  to  have  a  church  that  should  reconcile  all 
parties,  whose  ceremonies  should  be  a  happy  medium  be- 
tween the  showy  church  of  Borne  and  the  simple  form  of 
worship  asked  for  by  the  Puritans.  She  contended  stren- 
uously for  her  headship  of  the  church,  while  the  Puritan 
rejected  the  presumptuous  'doctrine.  She  demanded  of  her 
subjects  implicit  obedience  to  her  in  religious  matters  : 
the  Puritan  took  the  high  ground  that  it  was  his  right  to 
worship  God  according  to  his  own  conscience. 

Severe  laws  were  passed  from  time  to  time,  and  they 
were  enforced  with  unrelenting  cruelty.  All  were  en- 
joined to  conform  to  certain  ceremonies  in  worship.  Those 
who  did  not  comply  were  banished  ;  if  they  returned  with- 
1603.  out  permission,  the  penalty  was  death.  The  person  accused 
was  compelled  to  answer  on  oath  all  questions,  whether  per- 
taining to  himself  or  to  his  fellow-worshippers.  Ministers 
who  would  not  comply  with  these  laws  were  driven  from 
their  parishes  ;  the  members  of  their  congregations  were 
"  beset  and  watched  night  and  day ;"  if  they  were  de- 
tected in  listening  to  their  deprived  ministers,  or  were 
absent  a  certain  length  of  time  from  the  services  of  the 
Established  Church,  they  were  fined  and  imprisoned,  and 
punished  in  various  ways.  To  avoid  the  effects  of  such 
intolerable  laws,  many  bade  farewell  to  their  native  land, 
and  Holland  and  Switzerland  became  the  asylum  of  some 
of  the  noblest  men  and  women  of  England. 

Thus  the  contest  had  raged  for  nearly  forty  years, 
when,  in  the  latter  part  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign,  the 
Puritans  began  to  hope  that  the  dark  clouds  of  persecu- 
tion which  had  so  long  overshadowed  the  land  would  be 
dispelled  under  her  successor,  James  I.,  who  was  edu- 


- 


CONGREGATION    OF   JOHN    ROBINSON.  61 

A       ' 

cated  in  Scotland,  principally  under  Presbyterian  influ-  CHAP. 
ence.  They  had  reason  to  believe  he  would  protect  them  _ __ 
in  the  exercise  of  their  form  of  worship.  They  were  grossly  1603. 
deceived,  and  cruelly  disappointed.  When  it  was  for  his 
interest,  James  professed  to  be  very  favorable  to  the  Kef- 
ormation,  and  more  especially  to  the  Puritan  form.  Upon 
one  occasion,  standing  with  his  hands  lifted  up  to  heaven, 
he  "  praised  God  that  he  was  king  of  such  a  kirk — the 
purest  kirk  in  all  the  world  ;  "  adding,  "  As  for  the  kirk  of 
England,  its  service  is  an  evil  said  mass."  Such  was  the 
language  of  James  just  before  he  became  king.  The  mo- 
^  ment  he  ascended  the  throne  he  threw  off  the  mask,  and 
openly  proclaimed  his  famous  maxim,  "  No  bishop,  no 
king."  The  Puritans  humbly  petitioned  him  for  a  redress 
of  grievances  ;  he  treated  them  with  the  greatest  con- 
tempt. Said  he  to  his  bishops  :  "I  will  make  them  con- 
form, or  I  will  harry  them  out  of  the  land,  or  else  worse  : 
only  hang  them — that's  all." 

During  all  these  years  they  hoped  for  better  times,  and 
were  unwilling  to  separate  from  the  church  of  their  fathers ; 
but  suffering  and  persecution  at  length  brought  that  hour. 
Hitherto  individuals  and  families  had  gone  into  exile  ;  but 
now,  in  the  north  of  England,  a  pastor,  with  all  his  con* 
gregation,  determined  to  leave  their  homes  and  flee  to 
Holland,  where  there  was  already  a  church  of  English 
exiles.  This  was  the  congregation  of  John  Kobinson. 
These  poor  people  were  harassed  by  the  minions  of  the 
king  and  clergy,  and  subjected  to  the  petty  annoyances 
dictated  by  religious  intolerance.  Preparations  were  made 
for  them  to  leave.  As  they  were  about  to  sail,  the  officers 
of  the  government,  with  the  connivance  of  the  captain  of  1608. 
the  ship,  came  on  board  the  vessel,  and  arrested  the  whole 
company ;  searched  their  persons,  took  possession  of  their 
effects,  and  carried  them  to  prison;  men,  women,  and 
children.  In  a  short  time  most  of  them  were  released ; 
only  seven  persons  were  brought  to  trial.  They  also 


62  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

\j^.  W' 

GHAP.   were  liberated.     The  court   could  not  convic|  them  of 

x. 
crime. 

1608.  The  members  of  the  congregation  persevered  ;  and  soon 
they  engaged  a  Dutch  captain  to  take  them  from  an  un- 
frequented common.  The  women  and  children  were  to  be 
taken  to  the  place  of  embarkation  in  a  small  boat,  the 
men  to  go  by  land.  The  latter  reached  the  ship,  and 
were  taken  on  board.  The  boat  containing  the  women 
and  children  was  stranded,  and  before  it  could  be  got  off 
they  were  seized  by  a  party  of  their  enemies.  The  cap- 
tain, lest  he  should  become  involved  in  difficulties  with 
the  English  authorities,  sailed  immediately,  taking  with 
him  the  men,  overwhelmed  with  grief  for  their  defenceless 
wives  and  children  in  the  hands  of  their  cruel  oppressors. 
The  poor  women  and  helpless  children  were  dragged,  suf- 
fering from  cold,  hunger,  and  fear,  before  a  magistrate,  as 
if  they  had  been  guilty  of  crime.  They  were  treated  very 
harshly,  but  were  finally  permitted  to  join  their  husbands 
and  fathers  in  Holland. 

Now  they  were  PILGRIMS  indeed,  strangers  in  a  strange 
land;  "but  they  lifted  up  their  eyes  to  heaven,  their 
dearest  country,  and  quieted  their  spirits/'  They  re- 
mained about  a  year  at  Amsterdam  ;  not  satisfied,  how- 
ever, they  removed  to  Leyden.  Their  integrity  and  in- 
dustry, their  piety  and  self-denial,  in  what  they  believed 

,  to  be  the  cause  of  truth,  elicited  the  respect  of  the 
Dutch.  The  government  officers  would  have  treated 
them  with  marked  favor,  but  they  feared  to  offend  King 
James.  From  year  to  year  they  received  accessions  from 
their  brethren  in  England.  They  were  still  surrounded 
by  evils,  which  made  it  necessary  for  them  again  to 
change  their  homes.  Their  labors  were  severe  ;  though 
frugal  and  industrious,  they  obtained  a  support  with 
great  difficulty.  The  desecration  of  the  Sabbath,  the 
dissolute  morals  of  the  disbanded  soldiers  and  sailors 
among  whom  they  were  thrown,  caused  them  to  fear  for 


* 

* 


• 


THEY  APPLY  TO  THE  LONDON  COMPANY. 

their  children.     Holland  could  not  be  their  permanent   CHAP. 

home.    It  dawned  upon  the  minds  of  the  more  intelligent,   1 

that  it  was  their  duty- to  seek  some  other  land.     Their    1616. 
thoughts   were  directed   to   the  wilderness  of  the  New 
World.     They  express  not  a  wish  in  regard  to  worldly 
comfort,  but  a  desire  to  consecrate  all  to  the  great  cause 
of  promoting  Christianity. 

Though  they  had  been  so  harshly  treated  by  England, 
they  loved  her  still,  and  were  not  willing  to  accept  the 
offers  made  them,  to  colonize  under  the  protection  of  the 
Dutch.  They  had  heard  of  the  fine  climate  and  the  set- 
tlement of  Virginia,  and  resolved  to  apply  to  the  London 
Company  for  permission  to  emigrate  to  their  territory.  For 
this  purpose  they  sent  two  of  their  number,  John  Carver 
and  Robert  Cushman,  to  confer  with  the  company.  Their 
proposition  was  favorably  received  by  the  excellent  Sir 
Edwin  Sandys,  the  secretary.  Their  request,  signed  by  the 
greater  part  of  the  congregation,  was  afterward  sent  to  the 
company.  In  it  they  made  a  summary  of  their  principles, 
and  a  statement  of  their  motives  of  action.  They  said,  "  We 
verily  believe  that  God  is  with  us,  and  will  prosper  us  in  our 
endeavors  ;  we  are  weaned  from  our  mother  country,  and 
have  learned  patience  in  a  hard  and  strange  land.  We 
are  industrious  and  frugal  ;  we  are  bound  together  by  a 
sacred  bond  of  the  Lord,  whereof  we  make  great  con- 
science, holding  ourselves  to  each  other's  good.  We  do  not 
wish  ourselves  home  again  ;  we  have  nothing  to  hope  from 
England  or  Holland  ;  we  are  men  who  will  not  be  easily 
discouraged." 

They  were  to  emigrate  under  the  sanction  of  the  com- 
pany ;  but  owing  to  dissensions  in  the  company  itself,  the 
plan  was  not  carried  out.  At  this  time  the  king  was  op- 
pressing their  brethren  in  England  more  and  more  ;  the 
only  favor  the  Pilgrims  could  obtain  from  him  was  a  half 
promise  that  he  would  not  molest  them  in  the  wilds  of 
America.  In  truth,  James  wished  to  be  freed  from  those 


64  HISTOKY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

"* 

CHAP,    of  his  subjects  who  had  any  just  notions  of  human  rights. 
'  Said  he,  "I  would  rather  live  like  a  hermit  in  the  forest, 

1619.  than  be  a  king  over  such  people  as  the  pack  of  Puritans 
that  overrule  the  House  of  Commons  !" 

There  was  yet  another  difficulty.  The  Pilgrims  were 
poor — poor  indeed  ;  in  their  persecution  and  exile  they  had 
lost  their  all.  Upon  very  hard  conditions  they  secured  the 
means  to  emigrate  ;  yet  they  were  willing  to  make  any 
sacrifice  could  they  but  worship  God  in  peace,  and  protect 
the  morals  of  their  children. 

A  company  was  now  formed  of  London  merchants,  who 
^  agreed  to  furnish  the  money,  while  the  emigrant  was  to 
give  his  entire  services  for  seven  years ;  these  services  were 
to  constitute  his  stock  in  the  company.  The  profits  were 
to  be  reserved  to  the  end  of  that  time,  then  a  valuation  of 
all  the  property  held  by  the  company  was  to  be  made,  and 

1620.  the  amount  distributed  to  each  in  proportion  to  his  in- 
vestment.    By  contractj  the  merchant  who  invested  ten 
pounds  received  as  much  as  the  colonist  who  gave  seven 
years  of  labor.    This  throwing  of  all  their  labor  and  capital 
into  a  common  stock,  was  the  result  of  necessity,  not  of 
choice. 

They  purchased  one  ship,  the  Speedwell,  and  hired 
another,  the  May-Flower,  a  ship  of  one  hundred  and  eighty 
tons.  A^Sfchese  vessels  could  carry  only  a  part  of  the  con- 
gregation, they  determined  to  send  the  younger  and  more 
vigorous,  while  the  pastor,  Kobinson,  and  the  aged  and  in- 
firm, were  to  remain  at  Leyden.  Their  ruling  Elder, 
William  Brewster,  who  had  suffered  much  in  the  cause, 
and  was  respected  and  loved  for  his  integrity,  was  to 
conduct  the  emigrants.  Before  they  left,  they  observed  a 
day  of  fasting  and  prayer.  They  "  sought  of  God  a  right 
way  for  themselves  and  their  little  ones/' 

The  parting  address  of  the  venerable  Kobinson 'gives 
us  a  glimpse  of  the  principles  in  which,  from  year  to  year, 
he  had  instructed  them.  As  he  addressed  them  for  the 


* 


THE   EMBARKATION.  65 

last  time,  he  said  :  "  I  charge  you  before  God  and  his  holy  CHAP. 

angels,  that  you  follow  me  no  farther  than  you  have  seen 

me  follow  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If  God  reveal  any  thing  1620. 
to  you,  be  ready  to  receive  it ;  for  I  am  verily  persuaded 
the  Lord  has  more  truth  yet  to  break  forth  out  of  his  Holy 
Word.  I  beseech  you  remember  it  is  an  article  of  your 
church  covenant,  that  you  be  ready  to  receive  whatever 
truth  shall  be  made  known  to  you  from  the  written  Word 
of  God.  Take  heed  what  you  receive  as  truth  ;  examine 
it,  consider  it,  and  compare  it  with  other  scriptures  of 
truth  before  you  receive  it ;  the  Christian  world  has  not 
i.  yet  come  to  the  perfection  of  knowledge." 

A  number  of  their  brethren  came  from  Leyden  to 
Delft-Haven,  where  they  were  to  embark.  The  night 
before  their  departure  was  passed  in  religious  inter- 
course and  prayer  :  as  the  morning  dawned,  they  prepared 
to  go  on  board  the  ship.  On  the  shore  they  all  knelt, 
and  the  venerable  Eobinson  led  them  in  prayer — they 
heard  his  voice  for  the  last  time.  They  sailed  first  to 
Southampton  ;  in  a  fortnight  they  left  that  place  for  their 
distant  home.  It  is  soon  discovered  that  the  Speedwell 
needs  repairs,  and  they  must  return.  After  the  lapse  of  Aug. 
eight  days  of  precious  time,  again  they  make  the  attempt,  5- 
and  still  again  the  captain  of  the  Speedwell  asserts  that  his 
ship  cannot  cross  the  Atlantic.  They  put  back  io  Plym- 
outh :  they  there  leave  the  Speedwell,  and  those  whose 
courage  failed  them,  and  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and 
one  once  more  commit  themselves  to  the  winds  and  waves, 
trusting  to  the  good  providence  of  God.  Sept. 

Let  us  glance  for  a  moment  at  the  circumstances  and 
characteristics  of  this  company.  They  were  bound  to- 
gether by  the  strong  bond  of  religious  sympathy — united 
in  interest  and  purpose,  they  expected  to  endure,  to  suffer, 
to  rejoice  together  for  many  years,  even  to  the  end  of  life. 

Prominent  among  them   was  William  Brewster,  the 
ruling  elder  and  lay  preacher,  already  mentioned,  who  was 
5 


6. 


I 

• 
* 

HISTOEY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


CHAP,   to  supply  the  place  of  the  pastor  Eobinson.    He  was  a  man 

of  education,  of  refined  associations,  and  above  all  of  a 

1620.  lovely  and  Christian  spirit.  "  He  laid  his  hand  to  the  daily 
tasks  of  life,  as  well  as  spent  his  soul  in  trying  to  benefit 
his  fellows — so  bringing  himself  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
early  Christian  practices  ;  he  was  worthy  of  being  the  first 
minister  of  New  England."  !  There  was  also  the  dignified 
and  benevolent  John  Carver,  the  worthy  governor  of  this 
band  of  Christian  exiles,  who  in  the  cause  laid  down  his 
fortune,  and  at  length  his  life — for  he  soon  sank  beneath 
the  hardships  to  which  he  was  unused.  These  two  were 
comparatively  old  men,  but  most  of  the  "  Pilgrim 
Fathers  "  were  in  the  bloom  and  vigor  of  life. 

William  Bradford  was  but  thirty-two,  earnest,  saga- 
cious, true  and  steady  in  purpose,  "  a  man  of  nerve  and 
public  spirit ;"  self-educated,  and  so  ardent  in  the  pursuit 
of  knowledge,  that  amidst  all  his  trials  and  labors,  he 
accumulated  books,  and  found  time  to  read  and  even  to 
study  them.  As  a  farmer's  boy  in  England,  as  a  dyer  in 
Holland,  as  the  governor  of  a  small  nation  in  the  wilds  of 
America,  he  acted  well  his  part. 

Edward  Winslow  was  "a  gentleman  born/'  with  a 
mind  cultivated  by  travel  and  books  ;  gentle  in  manner  as 
in  spirit,  his  soul  melted  at  the  sorrows  of  others.  Miles 
Jf  Standish  was  a  soldier,  fearless,  but  not  rash  ;  impetuous, 
but  not  vindictive  :  though  not  a  member  of  the  church, 
he  was  strongly  attached  to  its  institutions  and  to  its  most 
rigorous  advocates.  Winslow  was  twenty-six,  and  Stan- 
dish  thirty-six  years  of  age. 

^•ov<          A  tedious  voyage  of  sixty-three  days  brought  them  in 

10-     sight  of  Cape  Cod.     They  had  left  their  native  land  to 

seek  in  a  howling  wilderness  an  asylum  from  persecution. 

4|      They  haa  not  the  sanction  of  a  charter  from  their  king, 

and  they  appealed  to  no  body  of  men  for  protection  :  they 

1  Elliott's  History  of  New  England. 


• 
«j?      * 


A    CONSTITUTION    ADOPTED.  G7 


must  have  a  government ;  they  were  all  on  an  equality,   CHAP. 

and  they  now  drew  up  a  constitution,  or  compact,  to  which 

the  men,  servants  and  all,  to  the  number  of  forty-one,  sub-    1620. 
scribed  their  names,  and  mutually  pledged  their  obedience. 

The  words  of  this  first  constitution,  made  and  adopted 
by  an  entire  people,  plainly  indicate  whence  its  principles 
were  derived.  They  say,  "  In  the  name  of  God,  amen  : 
we  whose  names  are  underwritten,  having  undertaken  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  advancement  of  the  Christian  faith, 
a  voyage  to  plant  the  first  colony  in  the  northern  parts  of 
Virginia,  do  solemnly  and  mutually  in  the  presence  of  God, 
and  one  of  another,  covenant  and  combine  ourselves  together 
into  a  body  politic  ;  and  by  virtue  hereof,  to  enact  such 
just  and  equal  laws  from  time  to  time,  as  shall  be  thought 
most'  convenient  for  the  good  of  the  colony.  Unto  which 
we  promise  all  due  submission  and  obedience."  Thus  the 
principle  of  popular  liberty,  that  laws  and  constitutions 
should  be  framed  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire  people,  found 
its  utterance  in  the  cabin  of  the  May-Flower,  by  the  act 
of  the  people  themselves. 

John  Carver  was  elected  governor  for  one  year.  Miles 
Standish,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  army  sent  by 
Queen  Elizabeth  to  aid  the  Dutch  against  the  Spaniards, 
was  chosen  captain.  Winter  was  coming  on — they  were 
anxious  to  land,  but  unfortunately  the  shallop  needed 
repairs.  In  the  mean  time  Standish,  Bradford,  and  others, 
impatient  of  delay,  went  to  seek  a  convenient  harbor,  and 
a  suitable  place  for  a  settlement.  The  country  was  covered 
with  snow  ;  in  one  place  they  found  some  baskets  of  corn, 
and  in  another  an  Indian  burial-ground. 

In  a  fortnight  the  shallop  was  ready  for  use,  and  the 
governor,  Winslow,  Bradford,  and  Standish,  with  others 
and  some  seamen,  went  to  explore  the  bay.  The  cold  was 
intense,  freezing  the  spray  of  the  sea  on  their  clothes,  until, 
as  they  expressed  it,  they  were  made  as  hard  as  iron.  They 
landed  occasionally,  found  graves  and  a  few  deserted  wig- 


* 


* 

I 

68  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

. 

CHAP,  warns,  but  no  other  evidence  of  human  beings.  On  one  of 
X<  these  occasions  they  encamped  at  night  on  the  shore  near 
1620.  where  the  shallop  was  moored.  The  next  morning  as  they 
were  closing  their  devotions,  they  were  startled  by  a  strange 
cry — the  war-whoop  of  the  savage— it  was  accompanied  by 
a  flight  of  arrows.  At  the  report  of  their  guns  the  Indians 
fled.  All  that  day  was  spent  in  seeking  a  safe  harbor  for 
the  ship.  Near  night  a  violent  storm  of  rain  and  snow 
drove  them  through  the  breakers  into  a  cove,  protected 
from  the  blast  by  a  hill.  In  the  midst  of  the  tempest  they 
landed,  and  with  difficulty  kindled  a  fire.  In  the  morning 
they  found  they  were  on  an  island  at  the  entrance  of  a 
harbor.  The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath  ;  though  urged  by 
every  consideration  to  hasten  to  the  ship,  they  religiously 
observed  the  day. 

£  On  the  morrow,  December  twenty-second,  one  thousand 

Dec.  six  hundred  and  tiventy—a,  day  ever  to  be  remembered  in 
22-    the  annals  of  our  country,  the  Pilgrims  landed.      The 
place  they  named    after    the    town    in    England   from 
*  which  they  last  sailed.     The  blessings  which  have  flowed 

^£t  Trom  the  settlement  of  New  England  are  associated  with 
'  the  spot  where  they  first  set  foot—the  KOCK  OF  PLYM- 
OUTH. 

No  time  was  spent  in  idleness.  A  place  was  selected 
for  the  settlement,  and  divided  into  lots  for  families.  On 
the  third  day  they  began  to  build  ;  their  houses  went  up 
but  slowly  ;  the  forest  trees  must  first  be  felled  and  split 
into  timbers  ;  the  season  was  inclement — their  strength 
failed  them  :  many  from  exposure  had  received  into  their 
bodies  the  seeds  of  death  ;  many  were  sick,  and  many  died. 
At  one  time  there  were  only  seven  of  the  whole  company 
not  disabled  by  sickness.  During  the  winter,  more  than 
flb  forty  were  numbered  with  the  dead;  among  these  were  the 
wives  of  Bradford  and  Winslow,  and  also  Kose,  the  young 
bride  of  Miles  Standish.  The  benevolent  Carver  lost  his 
son — then  he  himself  sunk  in  death,  soon  to  be  followed 


" 


*  * 

PRIVATIONS   AND   HEROISM.  69 

by  his  broken-hearted  widow.     They  were  all  buried  but   CHAP. 
a  short  distance  from  the  rock  on  which  they  had  landed.  —  _ 
Lest  the  many  graves  should  tell  the  Indians  the  story  of  1621. 
weakness  and  of  death,  the  spot  where  they  rested  was      £n 
levelled  and  sown  with  grass.    At  length  spring  drew  near, 
and  warm  winds  from  the  south  moderated  the  cold.    The 
trees  began  to  put  forth  their  foliage,  and  among  their 
branches  the  "birds  to  sing  pleasantly,"  while   the  sick 
were  gradually  recovering. 

When  the  May-Flower  left  for  England,  not  one  of 
these  heroic  men  and  women  desired  to  leave  the  land  of 
their  adoption.  They  had  now  a  government  ;  they  had  a 
church  covenant  ;  they  had  a  constitution  under  which 
their  rights  were  secured,  and  each  one  according  to  his 
individual  merit  could  be  respected  and  honored.  So  dear 
to  them  were  these  privileges,  that  all  the  privations  they  £ 
had  suffered,  the  sickness  and  death  which  had  been  in 
their  midst,  the  gloomy  prospect  before  them,  could  not 
induce  them  to  swerve  from  their  determination  to  found  a 
State,  where  these  blessings  should  be  the  birth-right  of  di 
their  children. 

Famine  pressed  hard  upon  them,  for  in  the  autumn  Nov. 
they  were  joined  by  some  new  emigrants,  who  had  come  10- 
ill-provisioned  ;  and  for  the  succeeding  six  months  they 
had  only  half  a  supply.  "  I  have  seen  men,"  says  Wins- 
low,  "  stagger  by  reason  of  faintness  for  want  of  food." 
Their  privations  for  two  or  three  years  were  greater  than 
those  of  any  colony  planted  in  the  country.  But  their 
implicit  confidence  in  the  goodness  of  God  was  never 
shaken.  At  times  Indians  were  seen  hovering  around  then 
settlement,  but  no  communication  had  been  held  with 
them,  as  they  fled  when  approached.  One  day,  to  their 
surprise,  an  Indian  boldly  entered  their  village,  crying  out, 
welcome  Englishmen  !  welcome  Englishmen  !  It  was 
Samoset.  He  belonged  to  the  Wampanoags,  a  tribe  living 


.? 


» 


70  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  in  the  vicinity.     He  had  learned  a  few  English  words  from 
'      the  fishermen  on  the  Penobscot. 

1621.  Samoset,  in  the  name  of  his  tribe,  told  the  Pilgrims 
9  to  possess  the  land,  for  the  year  before  those  to  whom  it 
belonged  had  been  swept  away  by  a.  pestilence.  This  an- 
nouncement was  a  great  relief  to  their  fears.  Samoset 
soon  again  appeared,  and  with  him  Squanto,  who/as  has 
been  mentioned,  had  been  kidnapped  and  sold  into  slavery 
in  Spain,  had  been  freed,  found  his  way  to  England,  and 
finally  home.  They  announced  that  Massasoit,  the  grand 
sachem  of  the  Wampanoags,  desired  an  interview.  The 
chief  and  his  retinue  of  warriors  had  taken  their  position 
on  a  neighboring  hill.  Squanto  acted  as  interpreter.  A 
treaty  of  friendship  was  made  between  the  chief  and  the 
English,  by  which  they  promised  to  defend  each-mother  ^ 

£  when  attacked  by  enemies.  For  more  than  fifty  years,  till 
King  Philip's  war,  this  treaty  was  observed.  The  Pil- 
r  grims  offered  to  pay  for  the  baskets  of  corn  they  had 
found  buried ;  this  they  did  six  months  afterward  when 
the  owners  appeared.  A  trade,  very  beneficial  to  the 
colony,  commenced  with  the  Indians,  who  promised  to  sell 
them  all  their  furs. 

Why  not  remember  the  humble  services  of  Squanto? 
The  Pilgrims  looked  upon  him  as  "  a  special  instrument 
sent  of  God  for  their  good  beyond  their  expectation."  He 
taught  them  how  to  plant  corn,  to  put  fish  with  it  to  make 
it  grow,  where  to  find  the  fish  and  how  to  take  them.  He 


they  soon  raised  corn  so  abundantly  as  to  have  a  surplus  to 
exchange  with  the  Indians  for  furs.  By  means  of  these 
furs  they  obtained  from  England  the  merchandise  they 
wanted.  He  remained  their  friend  till  his  death,  and  when 
dying  asked  the  governor  to  pray  that  he  might  go  to 
the  "  Englishman's  God  in  heaven." 

Massasoit  desired  the  alliance  with  the  Pilgrims  as  a 
protection  against  Canonicus,  the  chief  of  the  powerful 


"WESTON'S  MEN/'  71 

•;*. 

Narragansetts,  who  lived  on  the  shores  of  the  beautiful  bay  CH 
which  bears  their  name.  Canonicus  was  not,  however,  to  __ 
be  deterred  from  exhibiting  his  hostility.  As  a  challenge  1622. 
he  sent  to  Plymouth  some  arrows  wrapped  in  the  skin  of 
a  rattlesnake.  Bradford,  who  was  now  governor,  sent 
back  the  same  skin  filled  with  powder  and  shot.  The  In- 
dians looked  upon  it  as  containing  a  deadly  influence,  to 
be  exerted  against  the  enemies  of  the  English.  In  terror 
they  sent  it  from  tribe  to  tribe,  none  of  whom  dared  either 
keep  or  destroy  it.  Finally,  the  skin  and  its  contents 
were  returned  to  the  colony.  Canonicus  himself,  in  a 
short  time,  desired  an  alliance  of  peace  ;  evidently  more 
from  fear  than  from  good-will. 

In  trade  the  Pilgrims  took  no  advantage  of  the  igno- 
rance of  the  Indians.  They  became  involved  in  difficul- 
ties with  them,  however,  through  the  improper  conduct 
of  others. 

Thomas  Weston,  a  merchant  of  London,  who  had  in- 
vested money  in  the  enterprise  of  founding  the  Plymouth 
Colony,  now  wished  to  engross  the  entire  profits  of  the  fur 
trade  with  the  Indians.  He  obtained  a  patent  for  a  small 
district,  near  WeymoUth,  on  Boston  harbor,  and  sent  over  .  J 
about  sixty  men,  chiefly  indented  servants.  These  men 
ill  treated  the  Indians,  stole  their  corn,  and  thus  excited 
their  hostility.  The  savage  seeks  redress  by  murdering 
those  who  do  him  wrong.  The  Indians  did  not  distinguish 
between  the  honesty  and  good-will  of  the  Pilgrims,  and 
the  dishonesty  and  evil  acts  of  "  Weston's  men  ;"  they 
plotted  to  involve  all  the  white  strangers  in  one  common 
ruin.  Massasoit  was  dangerously  sick ;  Winslow  kindly 
visited  him  ;  turned  out  of  the  wigwam  the  Indian  doctors, 
who  were  making  a  great  noise  to  drive  off  the  disease,  and 
relieved  the  chief  by  giving  him  medicine  and  quiet.  The 
grateful  Massasoit  revealed  the  plot.  The  people  were  s 
greatly  alarmed  ;  they  had  heard  of  a  terrible  massacre  in 
Virginia,  and  they  feared  such  would  be  their  own  expe- 


f.       •?•:  *  ^  ;  '•  •  < 

dkk.   » 

:    72  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 4 


CHAP,   rience.     Not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost ;  they  must  act  in 

'      self-defence.     Captain  Standish  hastened  with  eight  men 

1623.    to  the  assistance  of  those  at  Weymouth.     He  arrived  in 

^r*    time  not  only  to  prevent  the  attack,  but  to  surprise  the 

Indians  themselves.    In  the  conflict,  the  principal  plotting 

chief  and  some  of  his   men  were  killed.     This   exploit 

taught  the  Indians  to  respect  the  English  ;  many  of  the 

neighboring  chiefs  now  sought  peace  and  alliance.     When 

the  good  pastor,  Mr.  Kobinson,  heard  of  this  conflict,  he 

exclaimed,  "  Oh  that  they  had  converted  some  before  they 

killed  any ! "     One  year  saw  the  beginning  and  the  end  of 

this  trading  establishment  at  Weymouth.     Apprehension 

of  danger  from  the  natives  was  now  removed. 

As  thanksgiving  is  fast  becoming  a  national  festival, 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  first  instituted  has  a  peculiar 
interest.  In  the  autumn  of  1623,  after  the  fruits  of  the 
harvest  were  gathered  in,  Governor  Bradford  sent  out  a 
company  for  game,  to  furnish  dainty  materials  for  a  feast. 
God  had  blessed  their  labors,  and  this  was  to  be  a  feast  of 
THANKS-GIVING.  "  So  they  met  together  and  thanked 
God  with  all  their  hearts,  for  the  good  world  and  the  good 
things  in  it." 

The  merchant  partners  in  England  complained  of  the 
small  profits  derived  from  their  investments.  They  began 
to  neglect  the  interests  of  the  colony,  and  to  manifest  their 
ispleasure  in  various  ways.  They  would  not  permit 
Kobinson  and  his  family,  with  the  remainder  of  the  church 
at  Leyden,  to  join  their  friends  at  Plymouth.  They  sold 
the  colonists  goods  at  enormous  prices,  and  sent  a  ship  to 
rival  them  in  their  limited  fur  trade.  They  outraged  their 
feelings  by  attempting  to  force  upon  them  one  Lyford,  a 
clergyman  friendly  to  the  Established  Church.  Lyford  was 
expelled  from  Plymouth,  not  on  account  of  his  religious 
views,  but,  according  to  Bradford,  for  conduct  injurious  to 
the  colony  and  immorality. 

In  time  industry  and  frugality  triumphed  ;  the 


to 
di 


* 


*• 


DEMOCRATIC  GOVERNMENT.  73 

m  '*    ft- 

grims  in  five  or  six  years  were  able  to  purchase  the  entire   CHAP. 

stock  of  those  who  were  annoying  them  in  this  ungenerous  ; __ 

manner.  The  stock  and  the  land  were  equitably  divided,  Nov. 
and  the  arrangement  of  private  property  fully  carried  out,  162^* 
each  one  becoming  the  owner  of  a  piece  of  land. 

Though  the  Pilgrims  had  no  charter,  they  formed  a 
government  upon  the  most  liberal  principles.  They  had  a 
governor,  who  was  chosen  by  the  people,  and  whose  power 
was  limited  by  a  council  of  five.  For  more  than  eighteen 
years  the  whole  male  population  were  the  legislators.  1640. 

They  were  the  pioneers  of  religious  freedom — the 
openers  of  an  asylum  in  the  New  World,  to  which  the 
persecuted  for  religion's  sake,  and  political  opinions,  have 
been  flocking  from  that  day  to  this.  Says  Governor  Brad- 
ford, in  his  history  of  the  colony :  "  Out  of  small  begin- 
nings great  things  have  been  produced,  by  His  hand  that 
made  all  things  out  of  nothing  ;  and  as  one  small  candle 
will  light  a  thousand,  so  the  light  here  kindled  hath  shone 
to  many,  yea  to  our  whole  nation." 


i 


•        ..     * 


Jt 

fcr.^. 


CHAPTEK   XI. 

COLONY    OF  MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 

A  Company  organized. — Settlement  of  Salem. — The  Charter  transferred. — 
Boston  and  Vicinity  settled. — Encouragements. — Disputes. — Roger 
Williams;  his  Banishment;  he  founds  Providence. — Discussions  re- 
newed.— Anne  Hutchinson. — Settlement  of  Rhode  Island. — The  Dutch 
at  Hartford ;  Disputes  with. — Migrations  to  the  fertile  Valley  of  the  Con- 
necticut ;  Hooker  and  Haynes. — Springfield. — Fort  at  Saybrooke. — Pe- 
quods  become  hostile. — Expeditions  against  them ;  their  utter  Ruin. — 
Rev.  John  Davenport. — Settlement  of  New  Haven. — Sir  Ferdinand 
Gorges. — New  Hampshire.' — The  United  Colonies. — The  Providence 
Plantations. — Educated  Men. — Harvard  College. — The  Printing  Press.  — 
Common  Schools. — Grammar  Schools. — Quakers ;  Persecution  of. — Eliot 
the  Apostle. — The  Mayhews. — Progress. 


CHAP.   PERSECUTION   raged  through  the   reign  of  James,  and 

threatened  to  continue  through  the  reign  of  his  son  and 

1624.    successor,  Charles  I. 

The  various  accounts  sent  to  England  "by  the  colonists 
at  Plymouth,  excited  great  interest,  especially  in  the 
minds  of  the  Puritans.  They  listened  to  them  as  to  a 
voice  from  Heaven,  calling  upon  them  to  leave  their  native 
land,  and  join  their  "brethren  in  these  ends  of  the  earth. 
This  was  not  wild  enthusiasm,  but  the  calm  promptings 
of  duty. 

Pamphlets  were  published  giving  descriptions  of  the 

£     land  of  promise  ;  it  promised  not  wealth  and  ease,  but  only 

peace  and   quietness.     There  were  many  who  preferred 

these,  with  toils  and  privations  in  the  wilds  of  America,  to 

religious  persecutions  in  their  own  land. 


THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    SALEM.  *75 

The  Kev.  Mr.  White,  of  Dorchester,  was  a  controlling   CHAP. 

spirit  in  the  enterprise.    He  was  a  Puritan,  but  not  of  the 

Separatists  from  the  Established  Church,  as  were  Eobin-    1624. 
son  and  his  congregation. 

The  Council  of  Plymouth  had  taken  the  place  of  the    1620. 
old  Plymouth  Company.     This  council  had  no  worthier 
object  than  gain  ;  it  granted  the  same  region  to  different 
individuals,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  for  endless  dis- 
putes.    It  sold  to  some  gentlemen  of  Dorchester  a  belt  of 
territory,  extending  from  three  miles  south  of  Massachu- 
setts bay  to  three  miles  north  of  any  part  of  Merrimac    1628. 
river,  and,  as  usual,  west  to  the  Pacific.     The  company 
prepared  to  send  a  colony.     The  care  of  the  enterprise 
was  intrusted  to  one  of  their  number,  John  Endicott,  a 
man  of  stern  character  and  sterling  integrity.    He  brought 
with  him  his  family,  and  about  one  hundred  other  per- 
sons ;  they  landed  at  Salem,  and  there  commenced  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay.     Men  of  wealth  and  influ-    Sept. 
ence,  such  as  Winthrop,  Thomas  Dudley,  Saltonstall,  Bel- 
lingham,  Johnson,  Simon  Bradstreet,  William  Codding- 
ton,  and  others,  who  afterward  exerted  a  great  influence 
in  the  colony,  were  willing  to  bear  a  part  in  carrying  the 
"pure  gospel"  to  New  England.     The  king  looked  upon 
the  colony  about  to  be  founded  more  as  a  trading  corpo- 
ration than  as  the  germ  of  an  independent  nation,  and  he 
willingly  gave  them  a  charter,  under  which  they  lived  more 
than  fifty  years.     By  the  terms  of  this  charter  the  royal    jj;an? 
signature  was  not  necessary  to  give  validity  to  the  laws    1629- 
made  under  it. 

Soon  another  choice  company,  in  which  "  no  idle  per- 
sons were  found,"  was  ready  to  sail.  The  good  Francis 
Higginson  accompanied  them  as  their  minister.  As  the 
shores  of  England  receded  from  sight,  Higginson  expressed 
the  feelings  of  the  emigrants  ;  as  from  the  deck  of  the  ship 
his  eyes  turned  for  the  last  time  to  his  native  land,  he 
exclaimed,  "Farewell,  England  ! — farewell,  all  Christian 


76  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

•*£. 

CHAP,  friends  ! — we  separate  not  from  the  church,  but  from  its 
*        corruptions  ; — we  go  to  spread  the  gospel  in  America." 

1629.    There  were  about  two  hundred  in  this  company ;  the  ma- 

June'  jority  remained  at  Salem,  the  rest  went  to  Charlestown. 
Privations  and  exposure  brought  sickness,  and  before  the 
end  of  a  year  death  had  laid  his  hand  on  more  than  half 
their  number,  among  whom  was  their  pastor,  Higginson. 
When  the  summons  came,  the  dying  seemed  only  to  re- 
gret that  they  were  not  permitted  to  aid  their  brethren  in 
founding  a  pure  church  in  the  wilderness. 

The  charter  contained  no  provision  for  the  rights  of 
the  people,  it  left  them  at  the  mercy  of  the  corporation  ; 
and  as  long  as  that  charter  remained  in  England,  they 
could  take  no  part  in  their  own  government.  It  was  also 
silent  on  the  subject  of  their  religious  freedom ;  at  any 
moment  this  might  be  interfered  with  by  the  king  and  his 
clergy.  There  was  only  one  way  to  be  freed  from  such 
undue  interference.  By  the  charter  their  governing  coun- 
cil could  choose  the  place  of  meeting  for  the  transaction 
of  business.  It  was  a  bold  step  ;  but  they  chose,  here- 
after, to  meet  on  the  soil  of  the  colony.  This  transfer  of 
the  governing  council  and  charter  made  its  government 
virtually  independent. 
Sf^  The  officers  were  to  be  a  governor,  a  deputy  governor, 
and  eighteen  assistants.  These  were  elected  before  leav- 

1630.  ing  England.  John  "Winthrop  was  chosen  governor,  and 
Thomas  Dudley  deputy  governor.  A  fleet  of  seventeen 
ships  set  sail  with  the  officers  elect,  and  fifteen  hundred 
'emigrants  ;  they  arrived  in  June  and  July.  Their  arrival 
was  opportune,  for  those  who  had  preceded  them  were  in 
great  distress  from  sickness  and  scarcity  of  food. 

Settlements  were  now  made  at  various  places  around 

*.   the  bay;  Charlestown,  Newtown,  Dorchester,  Watertown. 

A  fine  spring  of  pure  water,  on  the  peninsula  called  Shaw- 

mut,  induced  the  governor  and  some  other  persons  to  settle 

there.    The  position  was  central,  and  it  became  the  capital, 


* 

• 


NTS.  77 


ENCOURAGEME 

i 

under  the  name  of  BOSTON.     The  change  of  climate  and   CHAP. 

mode  of  living  brought  disease  upon  great  numbers ;  yet 

they  looked  upon  their  sorrows  as  so  many  trials,  designed    1630. 
to  make  them  appreciate  still  more  the  blessings  which 
the  future  had  in  store  for  them.     As  they  hoped,  these 
evils  gradually  passed  away,  and  prosperity  smiled. 

At  first,  the  assistants  could  hold  office  for  life,  and 
in  addition  it  was  their  privilege  to  elect  the  governor. 
The  people  became  jealous  of  their  liberties  ;  the  dispute 
was  compromised  by  their  electing  their  magistrates  annu- 
ally. They  were  to  be  chosen  by  the  freemen  of  the  1631. 
colony,  of  whom  no  one  who  was  not  a  church  member 
could  have  a  vote.  This  law  was  injudicious,  though 
enacted  with  the  best  intentions.  They  wished  a  govern- 
ment based  on  purely  religious  principles,  and  they  thought 
to  secure  such  a  government  by  allowing  none  but  the 
religious  to  take  part  in  it.  Another  change  was  made 
from  the  purely  democratic  form,  when  all  the  freemen  %' 
met  in  convention  and  voted  on  the  laws,  to  that  of  the 
republican,  when  the  people  elected  deputies,  who  were  au- 
thorized to  legislate  and  transact  the  affairs  of  the  colony. 

The  colonists  dealt  honestly  with  the  Indians  and  en- 
deavored to  preserve  their  good  will.  They  "were  to 
buy  their  lands,  and  not  to  intrude  upon,  and  in  no  respect 
injure  them  ;"  they  also  "  hoped  to  send  the  gospel  to  the 
poor  natives."  Many  of  the  neighboring  chiefs  desired 
their  friendship.  One  came  from  the  distant  river  Con- 
necticut ;  he  extolled  its  fertile  valleys  and  blooming 
meadows ;  he  offered  them  land  near  him,  because  he 
wished  their  protection  against  the  brave  and  fiery 
Pequods.  Fraternal  and  Christian  intercourse  was  held 
from  time  to  time  with  the  old  colony  of  Plymouth  ;  as  a 
harbinger  of  the  future,  there  came  from  Virginia  a  vessel 
laden  with  corn  ;  and  the  Dutch,  who  some  years  before 
had  settled  at  Manhattan,  visited  them  with  kindly  greet- 
ings. Thus  dawned  a  brighter  day. 

4H 


78  HISTOKY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES 


OF 


During  this  year  more  than  three  thousand  persons 
_  L_  came  from  England,  many  of  whom  were  men  of  influence, 
1635.    wealth,  and  education.    Prominent  among  these  was  Hugh 
Peters,  an  eloquent  clergyman,  and  Harry  Yane,  a  young 
man  of  much  promise,  the  son  and  heir  of  a  privy-  council- 
lor —  a  fact  of  some  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  people. 
Vane,  however,  was  a  true  Kepublican.     The  people  the 
next  year  unwisely  elected  him  governor,  in  place  of  the 
^%      dignified  and  benevolent  Winthrop. 

The  Puritans  had  experienced  all  the  evils  of  religious 
intolerance,  but  unfortunately  they  had  not  themselves 
learned  to  be  lenient.  In  the  colony  there  was  a  young 
clergyman,  Koger  Williams,  a  man  of  ardent  temperament, 
a  clear  reasoner,  and  very  decided  in  his  opinions.  He 
came  in  conflict  with  the  magistrates  as  he  advanced  sen- 
timents which  they  deemed  subversive  of  all  authority,  — 
such  as  that  obedience  t.o  the  magistrate  should  not  be  en- 
forced —  that  the  oath  of  allegiance  should  not  be  required  : 
he  also  denounced  the  law  that  compelled  all  persons  to 
attend  worship,  as  an  infringement  of  the  rights  of  con- 
science ;  he  said  the  service  of  the  church  should  be  sup- 
ported by  its  members,  and  not  by  a  tax  upon  all  the  peo- 
ple. His  principles  were  in  advance  of  the  age  in  which 
he  lived  :  one  hundred  and  forty  years  after  this  time  they 
were  fully  carried  out.  He  contended  that  the  charter 
from  the  king  was  invalid  ;  the  Indians  were  the  original 
proprietors.  The  people  repelled  the  aspersion  as  unjust, 
because  they  had  purchased  their  lands  from  the  Indians, 
and  acknowledged  their  rights  by  making  treaties  with 
them.  The  contest  waxed  warm.  Williams  accepted  an 
invitation  to  Salem  :  the  people  of  that  place  were  admon- 
Oct->  ished  by  the  General  Court  to  beware,  lest  they  should 
encourage  sedition.  Upon  this  he  retired  to  Plymouth,  — 
there  for  two  years  he  maintained  his  opinions  unmo- 
lested. The  people  of  the  old  colony  had  learned  the  les- 
son of  toleration  in  their  exile  in  Holland. 


WILLIAMS    A   WANDERER.  79 

Williams  was  again  invited  to  Salem,  in  open  defiance   CHAI*. 

of  the  authority  of  the  General  Court,  the  governing  power  L_ 

of  the  colony.     A  committee  of  ministers  held  conferences    1635. 
and  discussions  with  him,  but  without  inducing  him  to 
retract.     As  the  people  of  Salem  sustained  him,  the  Court 
admonished  them,  and  pronounced  the  sentence  of  banish- 
ment against  Williams.     It  was  not   the  expression  of 
opinions  on  the  subject  of  conscience,  or  "  soul-oppression," 
as  he  termed  it,  that  alarmed  the  Court,  but  the  expression      ft 
of  opinions  which,  if  carried  into  effect,  would,  they  affirmed, 
destroy  all  human  government. 

In  midwinter,  Williams  became  a  wanderer  for  con- 
science7 sake.  He  went  to  the  sons  of  the  forest  for  that 
protection  denied  him  by  his  Christian  brethren.  For  four- 
teen weeks  he  wandered ;  sometimes  he  received  the  simple 
hospitality  of  the  natives  ;  sometimes  his  lodging-place  was 
a  hollow-tree.  At  last  he  was  received  into  the  cabin  of 
Massasoit,  at  Mount  Hope.  He  was  the  Indians'  friend, 
and  they  loved  him.  He  thought  of  settling  at  Seekonk, 
on  Paw  tucket  river;  that  place  being  within  the  bounds  of 
the  Plymouth  colony,  Winslow,  the  governor,  advised  him 
to  remove  beyond  their  limits,  lest  it  should  create  diffi- 
culty with  the  Bay  colony.  Williams  received  this  advice 
in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  given,  and  removed  to  the 
country  of  the  Narragansets.  With  five  companions  in  a 
canoe,  he  went  round  to  the  west  side  of  the  arm  of  the 
bay.  Landing  at  a  beautiful  spot,  he  found  a  spring  of 
pure  water.  He  resolved  there  to  make  a  settlement.  In 
thankfulness  he  called  the  place  PROVIDENCE.  Tradition  j^ 
at  this  day  points  out  the  spring  near  which  he  built  his 
cabin.  Canonicus,  the  chief  of  the  Narragansets,  would 
not  sell  his  land,  but  gave  him  a  little  domain  "  to  enjoy 
forever." 

Williams  here  put  in  practice  his  theory  of  government. 
The  land  was  given  to  him,  and  he  distributed  ii  to  his 
followers.  It  was  purely  a  government  of  the  people.  All 


80  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    promised  to  obey  the  voice  of  the  majority  in  temporal 
1__  things  :  in  things  spiritual,  to  obey  only  God. 

1637.  Discussions  were  still  rife  in  Massachusetts  on  all  sub- 
jects.    The  men  held  meetings,  in  which  they  discussed 
matters  pertaining  to  their  liberties  ;  edified  each  other 

m  with  expositions  of  passages  of  Scripture,  and  criticized  the 
weekly  sermons  of  their  ministers.  As  women  were  not 
allowed  to  speak  in  these  meetings,  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchin- 
son, a  woman  of  great  eloquence  and  talent,  thought  the 
rights  of  her  sex  were  not  properly  respected  ;  she  there- 
fore held  meetings  for  their  benefit  at  her  own  house.  At 
these  meetings,  theological  opinions  were  advocated,  at 
variance  with  those  of  the  ministers  and  magistrates.  The 
people  became  divided  into  two  parties,  and  the  affair  soon 
took  a  political  turn  :  on  the  one  side  were  arrayed  Win- 
throp  and  the  older  settlers,  and  with  few  exceptions,  the 

*  ministers  :  on  the  other,  Governor  Vane  and  the  adherents 
of  Mrs.  Hutchinson.  She  and  her  party  were  accustomed 
to  speak  of  themselves  as  "being  under  a  covenant  of 
grace,"  and  of  their  opponents  as  "  being  under  a  covenant 
of  works."  These  indefinite  phrases  irritated  her  opponents 
exceedingly.  They  proclaimed  her  a  despiser  of  all  spirit- 
ual authority  ;  "  like  Koger  Williams,  or  worse  ;"  and 
darkly  insinuated  that  she  was  a  witch.  The  friends  of 
Mrs.  Hutchinson  spoke  of  appealing  to  the  king;  this  was 
downright  treason  in  the  eyes  of  their  opponents, — their 
allegiance  was  given  to  the  government  of  the  colony,  not 
to  the  king.  A  convention  of  ministers  was  held,  they 
investigated  her  doctrines,  and  declared  them  unsound  and 
injurious.  At  the  ensuing  election,  Winthrop  was  chosen 
governor;  and  soon  after  Vane  left  for  England.  Mrs. 
Hutchinson  and  her  followers  were  admonished,  but  with- 
out effect ;  she,  with  her  brother-in-law  John  Wheelwright, 

1638.  and  others,  were  exiled  from  the  colony.    How  much  wiser 
it  would  have  been  had  the  magistrates  permitted  her  to 

H 
'  IP 


,V*     ,   *      ' 


I 

THE    DUTCH    AT    HARTFORD.  81 

exercise  her  "  gift  of  discussing,"  even  if  she  did  say  they   CHAP 

were  "  under  a  covenant  of  works  !"  '__ 

Koger  Williams  invited  the  exiles  to  settle  in  his  vicin-  1638. 
ity.  By  his  influence  they  obtained  from  Miantonomoh, 
the  nephew  and  prospective  successor  of  Canonicus,  a 
beautiful  island,  which  they  named  the  Isle  of  Khodes. 
Here  this  little  company  of  not  more  than  twenty  persons, 
formed  a  settlement.  William  Coddington,  who  had  been 
a  magistrate  in  the  Bay  Colony,  was  elected  judge  or  ruler. 
They,  too,  covenanted  with  each  other  to  obey  the  laws 
made  by  the  majority,  and  to  respect  the  rights  of  con-  Oct. 
science.  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  family  remained  here 
several  years,  and  then  removed  farther  west  beyond  New 
Haven,  into  the  territory  of  the  Dutch  ;  there  she  and  all 
her  family  who  were  with  her,  with  the  exception  of  one 
daughter,  who  was  taken  captive,  were  murdered  by  the 
Indians.  1643. 

The  Dutch  from  Manhattan  explored  the  Connecticut  1614: 
river  six  years  before  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at 
Plymouth.  They  erected  a. fortified  trading-house  near 
where  Hartford  now  stands,  but  by  ill-treating  the  In- 
dians they  excited  their  hostility,  and  lost  a  trade  that 
might  have  been  valuable.  # 

Unable  to  occupy  the  territory,  and  unwilling  to  lose 
its  advantages,  they  invited  the  Pilgrims  to  leave  the    1627. 
sterile  soil  of  Plymouth  and  remove  to  the  fertile  vales  of 
the  Connecticut,  and  live  under  their  protection.     The 
invitation  was  not  accepted  ;  but  as  the  Pilgrims  were 
convinced  that  a  change  to  more  fertile  lands  was  desira- 
ble, Governor  Winslow  went  on  an  exploring  tour  to  that 
region  ;  having  found  the  soil  as  fertile  as  had  been  repre-    1632. 
sentect  he  promoted  emigration. 

The  Council  of  Plymouth  had  given  a  grant  of  Connec-    1630. 
ticut  to  the  -Earl  of  Warwick,  who  the  next  year  trans- 
ferred his  claim  or  patent  to  Lords  Say  and  Brooke,  John 
6 


V 

82  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP.    Hampden,  and  others.    The  eastern  boundary  of  this  grant 

L  was  the  Narraganset  river^jnd  the  western  the  Pacific 

1633.  ocean^When  the  Dutch  learned  of  this  grant,  they  pur- 
chased of  the  Indians  the  tract  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of 
Hartford,  on  which  stood  their  trading-house,  and  pre- 
pared to  defend  their  rights  ;  they  erected  a  fort  and 
mounted  two  cannons,  to  prevent  the  English  from  ascend- 
ing the  river.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  Captain 
William  Holmes,  who  was  sent  by  Governor  Winslow, 
arrived  in  a  sloop,  with  a  company,  and  prepared  to  make  a 
settlement.  The  Dutch  commandant  threatened  him  with 
destruction  if  he  should  attempt  to  pass  his  fort.  The 
*  undaunted  Holmes  passed  by  uninjured,  and  put  up  a 
fortified  house  at  Windsor.  He  was  not  permitted  to  en- 
joy his  place  in  peace  ;  the  next  year  the  Dutch  made  an 
effort  to  drive  him  away,  but  not  succeeding  they  compro- 
mised the  matter  by  relinquishing  all  claim  to  the  valley. 
The  parties  agreed  upon  a  dividing  line,  very  nearly  the 
same  as  that  existing  at  this  day  between  the  States  of 
New  York  and  Connecticut.  As  the  natural  meadows  on 
the  Connecticut  would  furnish  much  more  grass  and  hay 
for  their  cattle  than  the  region  nearer  the  sea-shore,  many 
of  the  Pilgrims  determined  to  remove  thither. 
1635.  The  following  autunrn,  a  party  of  sixty  persons,  men, 
,,  women,  and  children,  undertook  the  desperate  work  of 
going  through  the  woods  and  swamps  from  Plymouth  to 
Connecticut.  The  journey  was  laborious  and  the  suffer- 
ing great.  When  they  arrived  at  the  river  the  ground 
was  covered  with  snow,  the  precursor  of  an  unusually  severe 
Nov.  winter.  A  sloop  from  Plymouth,  laden  with  provisions 
and  their  household  furniture,  failed  to  reach  them  on 
account  of  storms  and  ice.  Their  cattle  all  perished  ;  a 
little  corn  obtained  from  the  Indians,  and  acorns,  were  their 
only  food  ;  they  barely  escaped  starvation. 

During  this  year  three  thousand  persons  came  to  Bos- 
ton  from   England.      Among   these   was    the   Reverend 


JOURNEY  THROUGH  THE  WILDERNESS.  83 

Thomas  Hooker,  who  has  been  called  "  The  Light  of  the   CHAP. 

Western  Churches."     He  was  a  man  of  great  eloquence, 

and  of  humble  piety ;  his  talents,  of  a  high  order,  com-    1635 
manded  universal  respect,   while  his   modesty  won  him 
ardent  friends.    When  he  was  silenced  for  non-conformity    |^ 
in  England,  'great  numbers  of  the  clergy  of  the  Established 
Church  petitioned  that  he  might  be  restored.     But  in 
those  days  to  be  a  Non-Conformist  was  an  unpardonable 
offence. 

A  portion  of  his  congregation  had  emigrated  the  year 
before.  When  he  arrived  at  Boston  with  the  remainder 
'of  his  flock,  the  colony  was  in  a  ferment — the  Williams 
controversy  was  going  on ;  his  people  were  wearied  with 
the  turmoil.  John  Haynes,  who  was  a  member  of  his 
congregation  in  England,  and  who  had  been  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  determined,  with  others,  to  remove  to  Con- 
necticut. In  the  spring,  a  company,  under  the  lead  of  Mar. 
Hooker  and  Haynes,  sej;  ,out  from  the  vicinity  of  Boston 
for  the  pleasant  valley.  They  numbered  about  one  hun- 
dred persons,  some  of  whom  had  been  accustomed  to  the 
luxuries  of  life  in  England.  With  no  guide  but  a  com- 
pass they  entered  the  untrodden  wilderness  ;  toiled  on  foot 
over  hills  and  valleys  ;  waded  through  swamps  and  forded 
streams.  They  subsisted  principally  on  the  milk  of  the 
kine  that  they  drove  before  them,  and  which  browsed  on 
the  tender  leaves  and  grass.  They  moved  but  slowly. 
Their  sick  they  carried  on  litters.  The  trustful  spirit  of 
piety  and  faith  was  present,  and  the  silence  of  the  forest 
was  broken  for  the  first  time  by  Christian  songs  of 
praise.  The  man  whose  eloquence  in  his  native  land  at- 
tracted crowds  of  the  educated  and  refined,  now,  in  the 
wilderness,  comforted  and  cherished  the  humble  exiles  for  re- 
ligion's  sake.  The  first  of  July  brought  an  end  to  their  la- 
borious  journey.  The  greater  part  of  the  company  remained 
at  Hartford'Pbme  went  up  the  river  and  founded  Spring- 
field ;  some  went  down  and  joined  those  at  Wethersfield. 


84  HISTOKY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.         John  Winthrop,  the  younger,  who  had  been  sent  to 

^r__  England  on  business  for  the  colony,  returned  as  agent  for 

1636.    Lords  Say  and  Brooke.     He  was  directed  to  build  a  fort 

at  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  river ;   it  was  named 

1635.  Saybrooke. 

These  settlements  were  now  threatened  with  destruc- 
tion. The  valley  of  the  river  and  the  region  adjoining 
were  more  densely  populated  with  Indians  than  any  por- 
tion of  New  England.'  The  powerful  Pequods,  the  most 
warlike  tribe  in  the  country,  numbered  almost  two  thou- 
sand warriors,  and  ruled  over  a  number  of  smaller  tribes ; 
they  inhabited  the  south-eastern  part  of  Connecticut, 
and  the  shore  of  Long  Island  Sound  to  the  mouth  of 
Connecticut  river,  and  west  almost  to  the  Hudson. 
The  Mohegans,  who  dwelt  in  the  north-eastern  part  of 
Connecticut,  and  the  Narragansets,  who  lived  around 
N arraganset  bay,  were .  the  enemies  of  the  Pequods  and 
the  friends  of  the  English.  The  Pequods  were  jealous  of 

1636.  the  English,  not  merely  because  they  had  settled  near 
them,  but  because  they  were  friendly  to  their  enemies. 
These  Pequods  were  charged  with  murdering,  some  years 
before,  a  Virginia  trader,  named  Stone,  with  his  crew,  on 
the  Connecticut  river.     Stone  had  the  reputation  of  being 
intemperate  and  quarrelsome  ;  the  Pequods  said  that  he 
had  attacked  them  and  they  killed  him  in  self-defence. 
Captain  Oldham,  who  was  exploring  the  Connecticut,  was 
murdered,  with  his  crew,  by  the  Indians  living  on  Block 
Island.     Captain  John  Endicott  was  sent  to  punish  the 
murderers.     Previous  to  this  the  Pequods  had  sent  chiefs 
to  Boston  to  make  an  alliance,  and  explain  the  difficulty 
in  relation  to  the  Virginia  trader.     They  promised  to  de- 
liver up — so  the  magistrates  understood  them — the  two 
men  who  had  killed  him.     Endicott  was  ordered  to  call, 

*  on  his  way  home  from  Block  Island,  at  the  Pequod  town, 
and  demand  the  promised  satisfaction.  The  Indians,  ac- 
cording to  their  custom,  offered  a  ransom  for  the  two  men, 


,•  * 


t  '  " 

THE    PEQUOD    WAR.  85 

but  refused  to  give  them  up  to  certain  death.     Endicott    CHAP. 
had  uo  respect  for  their  customs  ;  he  must  have  blood  for  _  _ 
blood.     Angry  at  their  refusal,  he  burned  two  of  their  vil-    1636. 
lages  and  destroyed  their  corn.     It  was  after  this  that  the 
Pequods  began  to  prowl  about  the  settlements,  and  pick 
off  stragglers,  until  they  had,  during  the  winter,  killed 
more  than  thirty  persons. 

The  people  in  the  Connecticut  valley  were  in  great 
alarm  ;  they  knew  not  at  what  mofiaent  nor  at  what  point 
the  storm  would  burst.  They  called  upon  Massachusetts 
for  aid  ;  only  twenty  men  were  sent  under  Captain  Un- 
derhill.  The  whole  community  were  so  much  absorbed  in 
discussing  theological  questions  with  Mrs.  Hutchinson  that 
every  other  consideration  was  overlooked. 

Although  the  Pequods  were  more  warlike  and  more 
numerous  than  any  other  tribe,  they  were  not  willing  to 
enter  upon  the  war  single-handed.  They  sent  a  deputa- 
tion to  Miantonomoh,  the  chief  of  the  Narragansets,  to 
enlist  him  against  the  common  enemy.  Governor  Vane 
wrote  to  Koger  Williams,  urging  him,  if  possible,  to  pre- 
vent the  alliance.  Williams  hastened  to  visit  Miantono- 
moh ;  he  found  the  Pequod  chiefs  already  there,  urging 
their  ancient  enemy  to  join  them  and  exterminate  the  J| 

white  intruders  —  the  Narragansets  were  wavering.  At  the 
risk  of  his  life,  Williams  labored  for  three  days  to  prevent 
these  tribes  uniting  their  forces  against  the  colonists.  The 
disappointed  and  angry  Pequods  threatened  him  with 
death.  He  not  only  prevented  the  alliance,  but  obtained 
the  promise  of  the  Narragansets  to  aid  the  English.  octt 
Meantime,  he  sent  a  messenger  to  Boston  to  warn  them  of 
the  impending  danger. 

At  length  the  infant  settlements  of  Connecticut   in 


convention  at  Hartford  declared  war  against  the  Pequods.      10> 
The  littlearmy  of  not  more  than  eighty  men,  including  t 
those  sent  from  Massachusetts,  assembled  at  Hartford  : 
the  pious  Hooker  exhorted  them,  and  gave  the  staff  of  com- 


%  •*. 

86  HISTOBY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  mand  to  Captain  John  Mason,  who  had  been  a  soldier  in 
the  Netherlands.     At  the  request  of  the  soldiers,  part  of 


1637.  the  night  preceding  the  day  they  were  to  march  was  spent 
in  prayer.  Stone,  one  of  their  ministers,  accompanied 
them  as  chaplain.  They  floated  down  the  river,  and  sailed 
round  the  coast  to  Narraganset  bay,  intending  to  go  across 
the  country,  and  attack  the  Pequods  in  their  fort.  As  the 
latter  had  a  very  exalted  opinion  of  their  own  prowess,  they 
supposed  the  English $rere  making  their  escape,  when  they 
saw  them  sailing  past  the  mouth  of  the  Pequod,  now  the 
*  Thames  river.  The  English  landed  at  a  harbor  in  the 
bay,  and  religiously  observed  the  Sabbath.  On  the  follow- 

May    ing  day  they  repaired  to  Canonicus,  the  old  Narraganset 

21 '  chief,  but  his  nephew  Miantonomoh  hesitated  to  join  them; 
their  numbers  were  so  small,  and  the  Pequods  so  numer- 
ous. Two  hundred  warriors,  however,  consented  to  accom- 
pany them,  but  as  rather  doubtful  friends — and  about 
seventy  Mohegans  joined  them  under  their  chief  Uncas. 

Sassacus,  the  bold  chief  of  the  Pequods,  was  too  confi- 
dent in  the  strength  of  his  two  forts,  and  in  the  bravery  of 
his  warriors  to  be  cautious.  His  main  fort,  on  the  top  of  a 
high  hill,  was  defended  by  posts  driven  in  the  ground,  and 
deemed  by  him  impregnable.  He  was  yet  to  experience 
an  attack  from  the  English.  In  the  night  Mason,  guided 
by  an  Indian  deserter,  approached  the  main  fort,  and  halted 
within  hearing  of  the  triumphant  shouts  of  the  Pe- 
quods, as  they  exulted  over  hifc  supposed  flight.  Toward 
the  break  of  day  the  English  moved  to  the  attack,  while 
their  Indian  allies  took  a  position  to  surround  the  fort. 

May  The  coming  struggle  was  one  of  life  or  death  to  all  that 
was  dear  to  the  little  army:  if  they  were  defeated,  all 
hope  would  be  lost  for  their  families  on  the  Connecticut. 
The  barking  of  a  dog  awoke  the  Indian  sentinel ;  he 
g  rushed  into  the  fort  with  the  cry,  The  English  !  the  English  ! 
In  a  moment  more,  the  English  were  through  the  pali- 
sades, and  fighting  hand  to  hand  with  the  half  awakened 


vf*-         -V^ 

•• 

MASSACBE    OF    THE    PEQUODS.  87 

^f 
. 

warriors.     Their  numbers  were  overwhelming.  a  We  must   CHAP. 

burn  them,"  shouted  Mason,  as  he  applied  a  torch  to  the   L_ 

dry  reeds  which  covered  a  wigwam — the  flames  spread  with  1637. 
great  rapidity.  All  was  in  confusion — as  the  despairing 
warriors  vainly  endeavored  to  extinguish  the  flames  they 
became  targets  for  the  English  marksmen.  The  Narra- 
gansets  and  Mohegans  now  joined  in  the  conflict.  More 
than  six  hundred  of  the  Pequods  perished,  men,  women, 
and  children  in  one  common  ruin,  nierciless  and  unrelent- 
ing :  only  seven  escaped.  In  an  hour's  time  the  work  was 
done  ;  just  then  appeared  the  warriors,  three  hundred 
strong,  from  the  other  fort.  They  came  forth  expecting 
victory.  When  they  perceived  the  ruin  which  had  come 
upon  their  friends,  they  raved  and  stamped  the  ground  in 
despair.  Mason  with  a  chosen  band  held  them  in  check, 
till  the  remainder  of  the  army  had  embarked  on  the  boats, 
which  had  come  round  from  Narraganset  Bay.  Then 
they  hastened  home,  lest  there  should  be  a  sudden  attack 
upon  the  settlements. 

In  a  few  days  Captain  Stoughton  arrived  from  Massa-  June, 
chusetts  with  one  hundred  men.  The  spirit  of  the  Pequods 
was  broken;  they  fled  to  the  west,  and  were  pursued  with 
untiring  energy.  Their  villages  were  burnt — their  corn- 
fields destroyed — their  women  and  children  slain  without 
mercy.  They  took  refuge  in  a  swamp,  and  in  desperation 
once  more  made  a  stand  :  again  they  were  overwhelmed 
with  great  slaughter.  Sassacus,  their  chief,  escaped  with  a  Aug. 
few  followers,  and  made  his  way  to  the  Mohawks,  where 
he  was  afterward  basely  murdered  by  one  of  his  own  sub- 
jects. The  remainder,  old  and  young,  surrendered  to  the 
victors,  who  disposed  of  them  :  some  they  gave  as  captives 
of  war  to  their  enemies,  the  Narragansets  and  Mohegans; 
and  some  they  sent  to  the  West  Indies  to  be  sold  as  slaves. 
Their  territory  was  declared  to  be  conquered,  and  their 
name  to  be  blotted  out.  They  were  the  foremost  in  that  , 
mournful  procession  in  which  the  Indian  race,  from  that 


88  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    day  to  this,  have  been  moving  on  toward  utter  extermina- 
'_  tion.     This  terrible    example  of  the  white  man's  power 

1637.  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  through  the  other  tribes  ;  and  for 
more  than  forty  years,  they  dared  not  raise  an  arm  in  de- 
fence of  the  graves  of  their  fathers. 

1638.  The  year  following,  John  Davenport,  a  celebrated  cler- 
gyman of  London,  arrived  at  Boston — with  him  came  his 
friend  Theophilus  Eaton,  a  rich  merchant.    They  and  their 
associates  had  been  exiled.    They  were  cordially  welcomed 
in  Massachusetts,  and  urgently  pressed  to  remain  in  that 

^  colony.  They  preferred  to  go  into  the  wilderness  rather 
than  dwell  in  the  midst  of  so  much  controversy.  Rumor 
had  told  of  the  fine  region  found  to  the  west  by  the  pursu- 
ers of  the  Pequods.  Eaton,  with  a  few  men,  after  explor- 
ing the  coast  of  the  Sound,  spent  the  following  winter  at  a 
desirable  place  in  that  region.  As  soon  as  spring  opened, 
the  company  sailed  from  Boston ;  in  due  time  they  arrived 
at  the  place  where  Eaton  had  spent  the  winter ;  there, 
under  a  large  tree,  on  the  Sabbath  after  their  arrival, 

April.  Davenport  preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  wilderness.  A 
day  of  fasting  and  prayer  for  direction  was  observed,  and 
then  they  formed  a  government,  pledging  themselves  "  to 
be  governed  in  all  things  by  the  rules  which  the  Scriptures 
held  forth  to  them."  Such  was  the  settlement  of  NEW 
HAVEN,  and  thus  was  it  to  be  governed.  They  purchased 
from  the  Indians  the  right  to  the  land — Eaton  was  elected 
governor ;  and  to  the  end  of  his  life,  for  more  than  twenty 
years,  he  was  annually  chosen  to  that  office. 

After  the  war  with  the  Pequods  was  ended,  the  people 
of  the  several  settlements  on  the  Connecticut  held  a  con- 
vention at  Hartford,  and  adopted  a  constitution  and  form 

1689.  of  government.  The  constitution  was  framed  on  liberal 
principles.  They  agreed  to  "  maintain  the  purity  of  the 
gospel,"  and  in  civil  affairs  to  be  governed  by  the  laws 

£  made  under  their  constitution.  No  jurisdiction  was  admit- 
ted to  belong  to  the  King  of  England.  Every  one  who 


THE    SPIRIT    OF   THE   COLONISTS.  89 

took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  commonwealth  was  enti-   CHAP. 

tied  to  vote.     The  governor  and  the  other  officers  were  to  1_ 

be  chosen  annually  by  ballot.     The  number  of  their  repre-    1639. 
sentatives  to  the  General  Assembly  was  to  be  apportioned 
to  the  towns,  according  to  the  number  of  inhabitants.    For 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  this  constitution  remained  in 
force. 

Sir  Ferdinand  Gorges  and  John  Mason  obtained,  from 
their  associates  of  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  a  grant  of 
land,  lying  partly  in  New  Hampshire  and  partly  in  Maine.  1622. 
This  was  named  Laconia.  A  small  number  of  emigrants 
were  sent  over,  who  settled  at  Portsmouth,  Dover,  and  a 
few  other  places  near  the  mouth  of  the  Piscataqua.  Wheel- 
wright, when  banished  from  Massachusetts,  settled  with 
his  fellow-exiles  at  Exeter.  These  settlements  progressed 
very  slowly.  Only  a  few  trading  houses  were  scattered 
along  the  coast,  and  for  many  years  they  took  no  more 
permanent  form.  These  settlers  were  not  all  Puritans, 
and  were  but  little  united  among  themselves ;  yet,  they 
applied  and  were  annexed  to  the  colony  of  Massachusetts.  1541. 
The  General  Court  agreed  not  to  insist  that  the  freemen 

and  deputies  should  be  church  members. 

. 

*4 

In  all  their  troubles  the  colonists  of  New  England  had    1639. 

never  appealed  to  the  mother  country.  They  felt  under 
no  obligation  to  her  ;  she  had  driven  them  forth  with  a 
harsh  hand  to  take  care  of  themselves,  or  to  perish  in  the 
wilderness.  A  spirit  of  independence  pervaded  their 
minds.  They  had  the  energy  and  industry  to  sustain 
themselves,  and  the  coumge  to  act  in  every  emergency.* 

Humors  had  reached  them  that  unprincipled  men 
were  planning  to  take  away  their  charter  ;  that  Arch- 
bishop Laud  was  meditating  to  establish  over  them  the 
rule  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  that  a  governor-general 
had  been  appointed,  and  was  on  his  way. 

They  would  not  recognize  the  right  of  the  king  even 


90  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    to  investigate  by  what  authority  they  held  their  charter, 
lest  it  might  be  inferred  that  they  were  in  any  respect  de- 

1639.  pendent  upon  his  will.     ]?or  the  same  reason,  when  the 
Long  Parliament  professed  to  be  their  friend,  they  respect- 
fully declined  any  favors.     When  they  feared  an  attempt 
to  place  over  them  a  royal  governor,  and  to  change  their 
colony  into  a  royal  province,  they  determined  to  defend 
their  liberties,  and  poor  as  they  were,  raised  six  hundred 
pounds  for  fortifications. 

1640.  Twenty  thousand  emigrants  were  in  New  England, 
when  the  Puritans  of  the  mother  country,  galled  beyond 
endurance  by  the  outrages  committed  on  their  rights  and 
persons,  commenced  that  fearful  struggle,  which,  in  its 
throes,  overturned  the  throne,  and  brought  the  tyrannical 
Charles  I.  to  the  scaffold,  and  established  the  Cornmon- 

4,  4  wealth  under  Cromwell.  During  this  period  emigration 
almost  entirely  ceased.  Many  hastened  home  to  England 
to  engage  in  the  conflict',  among  whom  were  the  Kev.  Hugh 
Peters  and  Harry  Vane.  They  both  perished  on  the 
scaffold  after  the  [Restoration. 

The  colonists,  though  unmolested  by  the  home  gov- 
ernment, were  still  surrounded  with  dangers.  They  were 
in  the  midst  of  hostile  Indians  ;  the  French  were  threat- 
ening them  in  the  North-East,  and  the  Dutch  in  the  West. 
For  mutual  safety  and  interest,  Plymouth,  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  and  New  Haven,  joined  themselves  together, 

1643.  under  the  title  of  "  THE  UNITED  COLONIES  OF  NEW  ENG- 
LAND." Each  was  to  be  perfectly  free  in  the  management 
of  its  own  affairs  ;  while  those  which  properly  belonged  to 
trie  whole  confederacy  were  to  »be  intrusted  to  commis- 
sioners— two  from  each  colony.  Church-membership  was 
the  only  qualification  required  of  these  commissioners. 
The  expenses  of  the  government  were  to  be  assessed  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  inhabitants.  The  purity  of  the 
gospel  was  also  to  be  preserved.  This  confederacy,  the 
germ  of  "  THE  .UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA,"  lasted  forty 


. 

THE    COLLEGE    AND    THE    PRESS.  91 

years.     Khode  Island  was  not  permitted  to  join  it  because   CHAP. 

she  would  not  acknowledge  the  jurisdiction  of  Plymouth,   

The  two  settlements  on  Narraganset  bay  now  determined   1643. 
to  apply  for  an  indepen^nt  charter.    When,  for  this  pur- 
pose, Koger  Williams  arrived  in  England,  he  found  the 
country  engaged  in  civil  war ;  the  Puritans  and  Parlia- 
ment on  the  one  side  and  Charles  I.  on  the  other.     Wil- 
liams applied  to  his  friend  Harry  Vane,  and  through  his 
influence  obtained  from  the  Parliament  a  charter,  under 
the  title  of  "  The  Providence  Plantations."     Koger  Wil- 
liams afterwards  became  a  Baptist,  and  founded  the  first    IGM. 
church  of  that  denomination  in  the  United  States. 

A  very  great  number  of  men  of  education,  ministers 
and  laymen,  emigrated  to  New  England.  There  were  of 
ministers  alone  more  than  eighty,  some  of  whom  were  equal 
to  any  of  their  profession  in  their  native  land.  There  was  * 
an  unusual  amount  of  general  intelligence  among  all  classes 
of  the  community.  The  Bible  to  them  was  as  familiar 
as  household  words.  In  truth,  it  was  the  intelligent 'alone 
who  could  appreciate  the  blessings  for  which  they  exiled 
themselves.  They  wished  to  secure  for  their  children  the 
benefits  of  education  ;  and  as  soon  as  possible  an  effort 
was  made  to  found  a  high  school  and  ultimately  a  col- 
lege. Funds,  with  some  books,  were  obtained.  The  place 
selected  was  Newtown,  but  as  many  of  the  men  had  been 
educated  at  Cambridge  University,  England,  the  name  was 
changed  to  Cambridge.  The  Eeverend  John  Harvard  left 
the  infant  institution  half  his  fortune  and  his  library. 
Gratitude  has  embalmed  his  memory  in  its  name.  1638. 

The  next  year  a  printing-press,  the  gift  of  some  friends  1539. 
in  Holland,  was  established.  Its  first  work  was  to  print 
a  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms,  which  continued  for  a  long 
time  to  be  used  in  the  worship  of  the  churches  in  New  Eng- 
land. The  following  preamble  explains  the  next  law  on  the 
subject  of  education  : — "  It  being  a  chief  project  of  that  old 
deluder  Sathan  to  keep  men  from  the  knowledge  of  the 


92  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.    Scriptures/'  it  was  determined  that  every  child,  rich  and 
XL     poor  alike,  should  have  the  privilege  of  learning  to  read 
1647.    its   own  language.     It   was  enacted  that  every  town  or 
district  having  fifty  householders  should  have  a  common 
school ;  and  that  every  town  or  district,  having  one  hun- 
dred families,  should  have  a  grammar-school,  taught  by 
teachers  competent  to  prepare  youth  for  the  college.     All 
the  New  England  colonies,  with  the  exception  of  Ehode 
Island,  adopted  the  system  of  common  schools. 

There  had  arisen  among  the  Puritans  in  England  a 
new  sect,  called  in  derision  Quakers.  An  unfavorable  re- 
port of  their  doctrines  and  doings  had  reached  Massa- 
chusetts ;  they  were  represented  as  denouncing  all  forms 
of  worship  and  denying  all  civil  authority.  At  length  two 
1656.  women  of  the  dreaded  sect  appeared  ;  they  were  arrested 
and  detained  until  their  books  could  be  examined,  and  the 
question  was  raised  whether  they  themselves  were  not 
witcjies.  Their  books  were  burnt  by  the  hangman,  and 
they  sent  back  to  England.  Barbarous  laws  were  made 
to  deter  Quakers  from  coming  to  the  colony ;  but  they 
came,  and  were  inhumanly  treated  and  sent  back.  Then 
a  law  was  passed  that  if  a  Quaker,  after  being  banished, 
returned,  he  should  be  put  to  death.  This  the  magis- 
trates fondly  hoped  would  be  effectual.  We  may  judge 
their  surprise  when  some  of  those  who  had  been  banished 
returned.  They  came  to  call  the  magistrates  to  repent- 
ance for  their  persecuting  spirit.  What  was  to  be  done  ? 
Must  the  law  be  enforced  or  repealed  ?  It  had  been  passed 
by  only  one  majority.  The  vote  was  taken  again ;  one 
majority  decided  that  the  law  must  be  obeyed.  Four  of 
the  Quakers  suffered  the  penalty  of  death.  Severity  did 
not  accomplish  the  end  in  view;  their  brethren  flocked  to 
Massachusetts  as  if  courting  the  honor  of  martyrdom. 
From  the  first  the  people  had  been  opposed  to  the  cruel 
law,  and  at  their  instance  it  was  repealed.  There  was 
little  apology  for  these  harsh  proceedings  ;  the  magistrates 


• 

ELIOT    THE    APOSTLE.  93 

could  only  say  they  acted  in  self-defence,  in  excluding   CHAP. 

those  who  taught  doctrines  that  would  interfere  with  the  '__ 

affairs  of  the  colony.     As  soon  as  persecution  ceased,  the    1656. 
Quakers  became  quiet  citizens  ;   many  of  them  devoted 
themselves  to  teaching  the  Indians  under  the  direction  of 
the  missionary  Eliot. 

The  Puritans  had  long  desired  to  carry  the  gospel  to  1645. 
the  Indians.  John  Eliot,  the  devout  and  benevolent 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Koxbury,  in  addition  to  his  pas- 
toral labors,  gave  them  regular  instruction  in  Christianity. 
He  learned  their  language  that  he  might  preach  to  them  ; 
he  translated  the  Bible,  and  taught  them  to  read  in 
their  own  tongue  its  precious  truths.  This  translation, 
which  cost  him  years  of  labor,  is  now  valued  only  as  a 
literary  curiosity  ;  it  is  a  sealed  book,  no  living  man  can 
read  it.  The  language  has  passed  away  with  the  people 
who  spoke  it. 

Their  kind  instructor  induced  them  to  cease  from 
roving,  and  to  settle  in  villages  ;  he  taught  the  men  to 
cultivate  the  soil,  and  the  women  to  spin  and  weave 
cloth,  to  supply  their  wants.  He  mingled  with  them  as  a 
brother  ;  and  though  he  met  with  much  opposition  from 
their  priests  and  chiefs,  he  led  many  of  them  in  the  right 
path.  His  disciples  loved  him  ;  his  gentleness  and  good- 
ness won  their  hearts. 

As  he  lived  so  he  died,  laboring  for  the  good  of  others. 
In  his  last  days,  when  borne  down  by  years  and  infirmi- 
ties, he  said,  "  My  memory,  my  utterance  fails  me,  but  I 
thank  God  my  charity  holds  out  still."  Even  up  to  the 
day  of  his  death,  which  took  place  when  he  was  eighty- 
six  years  of  age,  he  continued  to  teach  some  poor  negroes 
and  a  little  blind  boy.  To  Minister  Walton,  who  came  to  9 
see  him,  he  said,  "  Brother,  you  are  welcome,  but  retire  to 
your  study,  and  pray  that  I  may  be  gone."  Soon  after, 
without  a  fear  or  a  pang,  the  spirit  of  this  goed  "  Apostle" 
passed  away  ;  his  last  words  were  "  Welcome  joy ! " 


94  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.  Eliot  was  not  alone  in  His  labors.  The  young,  the 
"  winning,  the  pious  Mayhew,  an  accomplished  scholar, 
1645.  thought  it  a  privilege  to  toil  for  the  souls  of  the  poor  In- 
dians who  lived  upon  the  islands  in  and  around  Massa- 
chusetts bay*  He  took  passage  for  England  to  excite 
there  an  interest  in  *hifc  mission.  He  was  never  heard  of 
more  ;  the  ship  in  which  he  sailed  went  down  in  unknown 
waters.  His  father,  although  at  this  time  seventy  years 
of  age,  was  moved  to  take  his  place  as  a  teacher  of  the 
Indians.  There,  for  twenty-two  years,  he  labored  with 
the  happiest  results,  till  deatft  withdrew  him  from  the 
work. 

Within  thirty  years  great  changes  had  taken  place  in 
the  colony.  The  people  were  prosperous  :  industry  and 
self-denial  had  wrought  wonders. 

Says  an  enthusiastic  chronicler  of  the  times  :  l  "  The 
•Lord  hath  Been  pleased  to  turn  all  the  wigwams,  huts,  and 

%  hovels  the  English  dwelt  in  at  their  first    coming,  into 

orderly,  fair,  and  well-built  houses,  well  furnished,  many 
^  of  them,  with  orchards  filled  with  goodly  fruit-trees  and 

^  garden  flowers."     The  people  had  numerous  cattle   and 

herds  of  sheep  and  swine,  and  plenty  of  poultry ;  their 
fields  produced  an  abundance  of  wheat,  rye,  oats,  barley, 
J>  «£  and  Indian  corn  ;  and  they  could  furnish  fish,  lumber,  and 
^^  .  many  commodities  for  export.  "  This  poor  wilderness  hath 
equalized  England  in  food,  and  goes  beyond  it  for  the 
plenty  of  wine,  and  apples,  pears,  quince-tarts,  instead  of 
their  former  pumpkin  pies."  "  Good  white  and  wheaten 
bread  is  no  dainty:  the  poorest  person  in  the  country  hath 
a  house  and  land  of  his  own,  and  bread  of  his  own  grow- 
ing— if  not  some  cattle." 

These  good  things  were  not  obtained  without  labor. 
3  thirty-two  trades  carried  on,  the  most  successful 


1  Johnson's  "  "Wonder-working  Providence  of  Zion's  Saviour  in  New 
England,"  —  as  quoted  by  Hildreth. 


* 


;  -f*'     ;  ^ 

jj:,j  *  ••    >,:.;-•  ,-•: 

THE    GROWTH    OF    BOSTON.  95 

| 

were  those  of  coopers,  tanners,   shoemakers,  and   ship-  CHAP. 

builders.     "Many  fair  ships  and  lesser  vessels,  barques,  1_ 

and  ketches  were  built."  Thus  the  chronicler  anticipates  1655. 
the  growth  of  Boston,  which,  "  of  a  poor  country  village, 
is  become  like  unto  a  small  city;  its  buildings  beautiful 
and  large — some  fairly  set  out  with  brick,  tile,  stone,  and 
slate,  orderly  placed,  with  comely  streets,  whose  continual 
enlargements  presageth  some  sumptuous  city."  They 
had  their  soldiers,  too,  and  a  "  very  gallant  horse-troop," 
each  one  of  which  had  by  him  "powder,  bullets,  and 
match."  Their  enemies  ^6re  graciously  warned  that  these 
soldiers  "  were  all  experienced  in  the  deliverances  of  the 
Lord  from  the  mouth  of  the  lion  and  the  paw  of  the  bear." 


• 


**  * 


* 


~n  . 


I 


,** 


CHAPTEK    XII. 

VIRGINIA    AND     MARYLAND;' 


Slavery. — Massacre  by  the  Indians. — Lord  Baltimore. — The  Settlement  of 
Maryland. — Clayborne's  Kebellion. — The  Colony  prosperous. — Tolera- 
»     tion. — Berkeley  governor  of  Virginia ;  Trade  crippled ;  Intolerance. — 
Indian  War. — State  of  Society. — Aristocratic  Assembly. — Complaints  of 
Berkeley. — War  with  the  Susquehannahs. — Nathaniel  Bacon. — Disturb- 
ances.— Obnoxious  Assembly  dissolved. — Evils  corrected. — Bacon  goes 
£•        against  the  Indians. — Insincerity  of  Berkeley. — Jamestown  captured 
and  burnejd. — Death  of  Bacon. — Tyranny  of  Berkeley. — Aristocratic 
Assembly ;  its  illiberal  Acts. — Culpepper  governor. — A  Series  of  extor- 
tions.— Deplorable  state  of  the  Colony. — Difficulties  in  Maryland. 

(CHAP.    IN  August  of  this  year  slavery  was  introduced  into  th 
XIL     colonies.      A  Dutch  ship  entered  James  river,  having  o: 
1620.    board  twenty  negroes  for  sale  as  slaves.     Although  the 
Dutch  continued  occasionally  to  bring  Africans  to  the 
Virginia  market,  the  number  of  slaves  increased  but  slowly 
for  a  third  of  a  century.     The  trade  was  discouraged,  but 
not  absolutely  forbidden. 

The  Indians  were  scattered  throughout  the  country,  in 
little  villages,  along  the  streams  and  in  the  most  fertile 
districts.  The  planters,  who  wanted  these  places  for  their 
tobacco,  took  possession  of  them.  Powhatan,  the  friend 
1618.  of  the  English,  was  dead  ;  his  brother  and  successor,  Ope- 
chancanough,  though  professing  friendship,  was  their 
enemy  :  his  proud  spirit  burned  within  him  at  the  wrongs 
of  his  people.  Not  daring  to  meet  the  English  in  open 
conflict,  he  planned  secretly  a  terrible  revenge ;  even  their 
entire  extermination.  At  this  time  the  number  of  colo- 


» 


97 


THE   MASSACRE.  Q*7 


nists  was  about  four  thousand  ;  that  of  the  Indians  within  CHAP. 
sixty  or  a  hundred  miles  of  Jamestown,  about  five  thou-  L_ 


sand.  At  noon  on  a  certain  day,  the  Indians  were  to  fall 
upon  every  settlement,  and  murder  all  the  whites.  Mean- 
while, Opechancanough  was  warmer  than  ever  in  his  pro- 
fessions; "  sooner  would  the  skies  fall/'  said  he,  "  than  that 
my  friendship  for  the  English  should  cease."  On  the 
morning  of  the  intended  massacre,  the  Indians  were  in  the 
houses  and  at  the  tables  of  the  planters,  and  manifested 
more  than  their  usual  good  will.  On  that  morning,  a  con- 
verted Indian,  named  Chauco,  brought  the  news  of  the  plot 
to  Jamestown.  He  had  learned  of  it  only  the  night  before. 
Messengers  were  sent  in  every  direction  to  warn  the  people, 
but  it  was  too  late  to  reach  the  distant  settlements. 
Throughout  the  extent  of  one  hundred  and  forty  miles,  the 
merciless  savages  attacked  the  settlers  at  the  same  moment; 
and  on  the  twenty-second  of  March,  there  perished  within 
one  hour,  three  hundred  and  forty-seven  persons,  men,  Mar. 
women,  and  children.  Some  of  the  settlements,  though 
taken  by  surprise,  repulsed  their  assailants,  yet  the  effect 
was  terrible.  Of  eighty  plantations,  all  but  eight  were 
laid  waste,  and  the  people  hastened  for  safety  to  James- 
town. Desolation  reigned  over  the  whole  colony;  death 
had  entered  almost  every  family,  and  now  famine  and  sick- 
ness prevailed.  Within  three  months  the  four  thousand 
colonists  were  reduced  to  twenty-five  hundred;  the  de- 
crease continued,  and  at  the  end  of  two  years  not  more 
than  two  thousand  remained  of  the  nine  thousand  who  had 
emigrated  to  Virginia.  Their  misfortunes  excited  much 
feeling  in  England.  Assistance  was  sent ;  the  city  of 
London  did  much  to  relieve  their  pressing  wants,  and  pri- 
vate individuals  were  not  backward  in  sending  aid.  Even 
King  James's  sympathies  were  enlisted  ;  he  had  never  aided 
the  colonists,  but  he  now  gave  them  some  old  muskets 
that  had  been  thrown  aside  as  useless. 

The  planters  did  not  fear  the  Indians  in  open  conflict ; 

• 

$ 

'     4 

* 


V 

••f 

.     ' 

98  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   but  it  was  necessary  to  guard  against  their  secret  attacks. 

XIL     In   their   turn,    they  formed   plans   to   exterminate   the 

1622.  savages,  or  drive  them  far  back  into  the  wilderness.  Expe- 
ditions for  this  purpose  were  sent  against  them  from  time 
to  time,  during  the  space  of  ten  years.  In  time  industry 
began  to  revive,  and  signs  of  prosperity  once  more  were 
seen. 

The  London  Company  was  now  bankrupt  ;  endless 
discussions  arose  among  the  numerous  stockholders.  They 
became  divided  into  two  political  parties,  —  one  favored 
the  king's  prerogative  ;  the  other,  the  liberty  of  the  colo- 
nists. These  questions  were  freely  discussed  at  the  meet- 
ings of  the  company,  greatly  to  the  annoyance  of  James. 
When  he  found  it  impossible  to  prevent  the  stockholders 
from  expressing  their  opinions,  he  arbitrarily  took  away 
the  charter  of  the  company.  To  console  the  colonists,  he 
announced  that  he  had  .taken  them  under  his  own  special 
protection.  He  began  to  frame  laws  for  their  government  — 
laws  no  doubt  in  accordance  with  his  peculiar  notions  of 

1625.    kingcraft  ;  but  his  labors  and  life  were  suddenly  ended. 

Charles  I.,  his  son  and  successor,  appeared  to  favor  the 
colony  :  it  conformed  to  the  church  of  England,  and  he  did 
not  suspect  its  politics.  More  than  this,  he  wished  to 
ingratiate  himself  with  the  colonists,  for  he  desired  the 
monopoly  of  their  tobacco  trade.  He  even  went  so  far  as 
to  recognize  the  House  of  Burgesses  as  a  legislative  body, 
and  requested  them  to  pass  a  law  by  which  he  alone  could 
purchase  the  tobacco  of  the  colony.  The  House,  in  a  dig- 
nified and  respectful  manner,  refused  to  comply  with  the 

1629.  royal  request,  as  it  would  be  injurious  to  their  trade. 
After  the  death  of  the  liberal  and  high-minded  Yeardley, 
the  council  elected  Francis  West  governor.  Charles, 
piqued  at  this  independence,  as  well  as  the  refusal  to 
grant  him  the  monopoly,  appointed  Sir  John  Harvey. 
Harvey  had  been  a  member  of  the  colonial  council,  where 
he  was  the  willing  instrument  of  a  faction  that  had  almost 


SIR    GEORGE    CALVERT.  99 

ruined  the  prospects  of  the   colony.     The  enemy  of  the  CHAP. 

-A.J.1. 


rights  of  the  people,  he  was  exceedingly  unpopular  ;  he 

now  took  special  care  of  his  own  interests  and  those  of  his    1633. 

friends,  by  appointing  them  alone  to  office. 

The  histories  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  are  intimately 
connected.  As  has  been  mentioned,  Captain  Smith  was 
the  first  to  explore  the  Chesapeake  ;  the  trade  with  the 
Indians  along  its  shores  had  now  become  profitable. 
Though  the  Potomac  river  was  the  northern  boundary  of 
Virginia,  the  colonists  had  extended  their  trade  and  influ- 
ence with  the  Indians  on  both  sides,  up  to  the  head  of  the 
bay.  William  Clayborne,  a  bold  and  restless  spirit,  a  sur- 
veyor of  land  by  profession,  was  employed  by  the  Governor 
of  Virginia  to  explore  the  sources  of  the  Chesapeake.  A 
company  was  formed  in  England  for  the  purpose  of  trading 
with  the  Indians,  who  lived  on  both  sides  of  the  bay. 
Clayborne,  the  agent  of  the  company,  obtained  a  license  to 
trade,  and  established  two  stations,  one  on  Kent  Island, 
opposite  Annapolis,  and  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Susque- 
hannah. 

During  the  turmoil  of  religious  parties  and  persecu- 
tions in  England,  Sir  George  Calvert,  afterward  Lord 
Baltimore,  left  the  Protestant  church,  resigned  his  office 
of  Secretary  of  State,  and  professed  himself  a  Eoman 
Catholic.  This  did  not  affect  his  standing  with  James  or 
his  son  Charles.  Calvert  manifested  a  strong  interest  in 
the  cause  of  colonization.  He  wished  to  found  a  colony  to 
which  Catholics  might  flee  to  avoid  persecution.  He  first 
obtained  permission  to  found  a  settlement  on  the  cold  and 
barren  shores  of  Newfoundland  ;  that  enterprise  was  soon  1622. 
abandoned.  He  turned  to  Virginia,  a  clime  more  genial ; 
there  he  was  met  by  the  oaths  of  supremacy  and  alle- 
giance, to  which,  as  a  good  Catholic,  Lord  Baltimore  could 
not  subscribe  ;  Virginia  could  never  be  a  peaceful  asylum 
for  those  of  his  faith.  The  region  north  of  it  attracted  his 


, 


00  HISTOKY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    attention,  and  he  applied  to  King  Charles  for  a  portion  of 

that  territory. 

1632.  Charles  gave  him  a  grant  of  land,  most  of  which  is  now 
included  in  the  State  of  Maryland  ;  it  was  named  after 
Henrietta  Maria,  the  wife  of  the  king.  As  a  proprietary 
Lord  Baltimore  deserves  all  praise  for  his  liberality.  The 
colonists  were  to  have  a  voice  in  making  their  own  laws  ; 
they  were  not  to  be  taxed  without  their  own  consent. 
He  was  bold  to  repudiate  intolerance,  and  politic  to 
adopt  a  form  of  government  which  alone  could  insure 
success.  He  designed  his  colony  to  be  an  asylum  for  the 
Catholic,  but  the  Protestant  was  invited  to  share  it.  Just 
as  the  charter  was  about  to  be  issued  he  died.  To  his  son 
Cecil,  under  the  same  title,  the  charter  was  continued ;  to 
him  belongs  the  honor  of  carrying  into  effect  the  inten- 
tions of  his  father. 

Feb.,          He  deputed  his  brother,  Leonard,  to  take  charge  of 

1632.  ^e  emigrants,  who,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred,  after 
a  protracted  voyage,  arrived  safely  in  the  Chesapeake.  A 
tribe  of  Indians  residing  on  the  St.  Mary's,  a  branch  of  the 
Potomac,  were  about  to  remove  on  account  of  their  ene- 
mies the  Susquehannahs  ;  they  sold  to  the  infant  colony 
their  cultivated  land  and  their  village.  The  Indian 
women  taught  the  strangers'  wives  to  make  bread  of 
maize  ;  and  soon  the  emigrants  had  corn-fields  and 
gardens,  and  obtained  abundance  of  game  in  the  forest. 
A  few  days  after  their  arrival,  Governor  Harvey,  of  Vir- 
ginia, paid  them  a  friendly  visit ;  it  was  the  desire  of 
Charles  that  they  should  be  welcomed  by  the  sister  colony. 
Friendly  relations  were  established  with  the  neighboring 
Indians  ;  the  colonists  for  a  time  obtained  their  necessary 
'provisions  from  Virginia,  but  as  they  were  industrious,  the 
fruitful  earth  soon  repaid  their  labor.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  second  year,  the  freemen  of  the  colony  held 
their  first  legislative  Assembly. 

Clayborne  was  the  evil  genius  of  Maryland.    His  license 


EFFORTS   TO    CONVERT    THE    INDIANS.  101 

i 

to  trade  with  the  Indians  was  made  void  by  Lord  Balti-   CHAP. 

more's.  charter.     He  attempted  to  excite  a  rebellion,  but  '_ 

was  overpowered  and  compelled  to  flee  to  Virginia.  The  1635. 
Governor  of  Maryland  demanded  him  as  a  fugitive  from 
justice  ;  to  evade  the  demand  Harvey  sent  him  to  Eng- 
land to  be  tried.  This  offended  the  people  of  Virginia, 
who  sympathized  with  Clayborne  ;  to  avenge  him,  they 
impeached  Harvey  himself,  "and  thrust  him  out  of  his 
government."  The  Assembly  appointed  commissioners 
to  prosecute  the  charges  against  him  in  England.  The 
commissioners  met  with  no  favor  from  the  king  ;  and  soon,  April, 
under  a  new  appointment,  the  unpopular  Harvey  came 
back  as  governor. 

Meanwhile  peace  and  plenty  continued  to  be  the  lot 
of  Maryland.  Every  year  the  rights  of  the  people  were 
better  understood  ;  they  acknowledged  their  allegiance  to 
England,  and  respected  the  rights  of  Lord  Baltimore. 
Their  lands  produced  an  abundance  of  tobacco,  and  com- 
merce began  to  prosper.  Efforts  were  now  made  to  con- 
vert some  of  the  neighboring  Indians  to  Christianity. 
The  priests  established  four  stations  among  them,  and  not 
without  effect.  One  chief,  Tayac,  with  .his  wife,  was  bap- 
tized, he  taking  the  name  of  Charles  and  she  that  of  Mary. 
Soon  after  one  hundred  and  thirty  other  converts  received 
baptism,  some  of  whom  sent  their  children  to  receive  a 
Christian  education  under  the  care  of  the  priests.  But,  4 
alas  !  these  efforts  were  as  vain  as  the  other  attempts  of 
theT  times  to  Christianize  the  poor  natives.  The  same  evil 
causes  were  here  at  work — wars  and'  the  influence  of  bad 
men.  It  is  said  these  grateful  tribes  ever  after  remained 
friendly  to  those  who  endeavored  to  instruct  them. 

The   persevering    Clayborne    returned,  to   mar   their    1545. 
peace  by  another  and  more  successful  insurrection.     The 
Governor  of  Maryland  was  now,  in  his  turn,  compelled  to 
flee  to  Virginia.     After  two  years  of  misrule,  peace  was 
again  restored,  and  all  the  offenders  were  pardoned. 

• 

M. 


., 

102  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.          As  an  interesting  fact,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  in 
'__  this  year  Maryland  passed  a  law  of  perfect  toleration  to 

1649.  all  Christian  sects  ;  two  years  previous  Khode  Island  had 
granted  toleration  to  all  opinions,  Infidel  as  well  as 
Christian. 

During  the  rule  of  Cromwell  the  government  of  Mary- 
land was  very  unsettled.  The  Assembly,  finally,  repu- 
diated both  Cromwell  and  Baltimore,  and  proclaimed  the 
authority  of  the  people  as  supreme.  Scarcely  was  this  ac- 
complished when  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  took  place. 

1660.  Lord  Baltimore  made  known  to  the  king  that  his  profes- 
sions of  republicanism  were  made  only  to  obtain  the  favor 
of  Cromwell,  and  that  really  he  was  a  good  royalist. 
Charles  immediately  restored  him  his  proprietary  rights. 
Baltimore  was  not  vindictive ;  he  proclaimed  a  general 
pardon,  and  for  almost  thirty  years  the  colony  enjoyed 
repose. 

Sir  William  Berkeley,  as  successor  to  Harvey,  was  ap- 

1642.  pointed  Governor  of  Virginia.  The  trade  of  the  colony 
was  crippled  by  severe  restrictions  ;  as  England  claimed 
its  trade  for  herself  alone.  Thus  began  a  series  of  acts 
and  infringements  on  commerce  by  the  home  government, 
which  annoyed  the  people  of  the  colonies,  and  interfered 
with  their  industry  and  commercial  prosperity  for  more 
than  one  hundred  and  thirty  years,  when  these  grievances 

1776.  were  swept  away  by  the  Eevolution.  The  colony  was  now 
permitted  for  a  time  to  take  care  of  itself,  Charles  I.  being 
engaged  in  a  contest  with  his  subjects  at  home.  The  Vir- 
ginians were  stanch  friends  of  the  king,  and  the  party  in 
the  mother  country  contending  against  him  met  with  no 
--^^  favor  from  them.  The  Puritans  who  were  living  in  Vir- 
ginia, being  identified  with  republicanism,  were  looked 
upon  with  suspicion ;  those  of  their  number  who  would 
not  conform  to  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  England 
were  banished.  A  majority  of  these  passed  over  into 
Maryland.  Thus  it  was^  the  Puritan  would  not  permit 


THE   LOYALTY    OF    VIRGINIA. 


the  Episcopalian  to  come  to  New  England,  and  the  Epis-  CHAP 
copalian  banished  the  Puritan  from  Virginia.  1 

No  peace  was  granted  to  the  Indians.  After  a  space  1644. 
of  twenty-two  years,  they  once  more  made  an  effort  to  free 
themselves  from  their  enemies.  The  frontier  settlements 
were  suddenly  attacked,  and  about  three  hundred  persons 
killed.  When  resisted,  the  savages  fled  to  the  wilderness. 
They  were  pursued  with  great  vigor,  and  after  a  contest 
of  two  years  their  power  was  completely  broken.  Opechan- 
canough,  their  aged  chief,  was  taken  captive,  and  soon 
after  died  in  prison  ;  his  proud  spirit  deeply  wounded  that 
he  should  be  gazed  at  by  his  enemies.  The  next  year  a 
treaty  was  made,  by  which  they  relinquished  forever  the 
fertile  valleys  of  their  fathers,  and  with  sorrowful  hearts 
retired  far  into  the  wilderness. 

After  the  execution  of  Charles  I.,  great  numbers  of  the 
royalists,  "  good  cavalier  families/'  fled  to  Virginia,  where  3 
they  were  welcomed  as  exiled  patriots.  She  was  the  last 
of  the  colonies  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Common- 
wealth. But  when  commissioners  were  sent,  who  granted 
the  people  all  the  civil  rights  and  privileges  they  asked, 
they  submitted. 

After  the  death  of  Cromwell,  and  before  it  was  known 
who  was  to  rule  in  England,  the  House  of  Burgesses  re- 
solved, "  that  the  supreme  power  will  be  resident  in  the 
Assembly."  Then  Berkeley  was  elected  governor.  In 
accepting  office,  he  acknowledged  the  authority  of  the 
people's  representatives,  saying,  "  I  am  but  the  servant  of 
the  Assembly."  We  shall  see  how  sincere  was  that  decla- 
ration. 

When  Charles  II.  was  in  exile,  he  was  invited  to  come 
and  be    "king  of  Virginia;"   from  this  incident,  it  has      M 
been  called  "  The  Old  Dominion."     This  loyalty  Charles 
after  his  restoration  repaid,  by  basely  taking  away  their 
privileges,  and  distributing  their  lands  among  his  favorites. 

The  society  of  Virginia  was  peculiar.    The  first  settle- 


104  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

C|AP.   ments  were  made  under  the  protection  of  the  nobility;  this 

favored  the  growth  of  an  aristocratic  class  of  landholders. 

1660.  There  were  two  other  classes — the  negro,  who  was  a  slave 
for  life,  and  the  indented  white  man,  sent  from  the  mother 
country  to  serve  a  certain  number  of  years.  These  white 
servants  were  sometimes  criminals,  but  oftener  political 
offenders.  The  latter,  when  their  term  of  servitude  ex- 
pired, mingled  with  the  people  on  an  equality. 

The  Assembly  held  their  sessions  once  in  two  years  ; 
their  members  were  chosen  by  the  people,  and  only  for  one 
session.  The  first  Assembly  held  after  the  Kestoration, 
was  composed  of  landholders.  Berkeley  now  declared  him- 
self governor,  not  because  he  was  elected  by  the  people, 
but  because  Charles  when  in  exile  had  appointed  him. 

1662.          The  Assembly  went  still  further,  and  deprived  the  peo- 
ple of  the  privilege  of  choosing  their  own  legislators,  by 
$   assuming  to  themselves  the  right  to  be  perpetual.     This 
Assembly  remained  thus'  in  violation  of  law  for  fourteen 

1676.  years.  During  this  usurpation,  all  that  the  people  had 
gained  of  civil  rights  for  more  than  a  third  of  a  century, 
this  aristocratic  House  of  Burgesses  swept  away.  The  only 
right  allowed  them  was  that  of  petitioning  their  rulers  for 
redress  of  grievances — but  these  petitions  were  disregarded. 
The  Church  of  England  was  declared  to  be  the  religion  of 
the  State,  and  all  were  bound  by  law  under  penalties  of 
fines  and  banishment,  not  only  to  attend  its  services,  but 
to  pay  a  tax  to  support  it.  Governor  Berkeley  complained 
of  its  ministers  :  u  as  of  all  other  commodities,  so  of  this— 
the  worst  are  sent  us,  and  we  have  few  that  we  can  boast 
of,  since  the  persecutions  in  Cromwell's  tyranny  drove 
divers  worthy  men  hither."  The  cause  of  education  was 
neglected,  and  almost  prohibited,  The  poor  were  pecu- 
liarly unfortunate — "  out  of  towns,"  says  a  chronicler  of 
the  times,  "  every  man  instructs  his  children  as  best  he 
can  :"— no  aid  was  afforded  them  by  those  in  authority. 
Says  the  aristocratic  Berkeley  :  "  I  thank  God  there  are 


i 


NATHANIEL    BACON.  105 

no  free  schools  nor  printing  ;  and  I  hope  we  will  not  have   CHAP. 

them  these  hundred  years  ! "     Such  was  the  language  of 

a  man  who  was  Governor  of  Virginia  for  nearly  forty  years.  1639. 
The  printing-press  was  established  in  Massachusetts  ninety  1729. 
years  before  there  was  one  in  Virginia. 

The  people  of  Maryland  became  involved  in  war  with 
the  Indians.  A  company  of  Virginians,  under  John  Wash-  1675. 
ington,  great-grandfather  of  George  Washington,  crossed 
over  the  Potomac  to  aid  them.  Six  chiefs  of  the  Susque- 
hannahs  came  to  treat  for  peace,  but  the  Virginians  treach- 
erously murdered  the  whole  company.  For  this  evil  deed 
the  innocent  were  made  to  suffer.  The  Susquehannahs 
immediately  passed  over  into  Virginia  to  revenge  their 
death,  by  killing  ten  persons  for  each  chief.  According  to 
their  belief,  until  this  sacrifice  was  made,  the  souls  of  their 
chiefs  could  not  be  at  rest  in  the  spirit  land.  The  people 
cried  to  the  governor  for  protection,  which  he  was  slow  to 
give  ;  they  attributed  his  tardiness  to  his  interest  in  the 
fur-trade.  They  now  asked  permission  to  defend  them- 
selves ;  to  invade  the  enemies'  country,  and  drive  them 
from  their  hiding-places  ;  this  was  also  refused.  During 
this  delay,  the  Indians  pursued  their  murderous  work  all 
along  the  frontiers. 

There  was  in  the  colony  a  young  planter,  not  more  than 
thirty  years  of  age,  a  native  of  England  ;  a  lawyer  by  pro- 
fession ;  eloquent  and  winning  in  his  manners  ;  bold  and 
determined  in  spirit ;  a  true  patriot ;  disliked  by  the  gov- 
ernor, because  he  was  a  republican  ;  but  dear  to  the  peo- 
ple for  the  same  reason  :  such  was  Nathaniel  Bacon.  To 
him,  in  their  extremity,  they  turned.  Those  who  had 
volunteered  to  go  against  the  Indians,  asked  of  the  gover- 
nor a  commission  for  Bacon  to  command  them.  Berkeley 
obstinately  refused  to  grant  it.  He  would  not  countenance 
such  presumption  on  the  part  of  the  "  common  people." 
The  murders  continued  ;  the  volunteers  waited  no  longer 
on  the  tardy  government,  but  set  out  under  the  command 


fv     * 


106  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    of  Bacon  to  repel  the  savages.     The  moment  they  were 
_  gone,  Berkeley  proclaimed  Bacon  a  traitor,  and  his  soldiers 

1676.    rebels,  and  gave  orders  for  them  to  disperse. 
April. 

The  populous  counties  on  the  Bay  began  to  show  signs 
of  insurrection.  Their  quarrel  was  not  with  the  Indians, 
but  with  the  acts  and  continued  existence  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses.  Bacon,  meanwhile,  had  returned  successful 
from  his  expedition.  The  haughty  old  governor  was  forced 
to  yield  ;  the  obnoxious  Assembly  was  dissolved,  and  writs 
issued  for  the  election  of  members  for  another,  to  which 
Bacon  was  returned  triumphantly  from  Henrico  county. 
This  Assembly  corrected  the  evils  of  the  long  one.  The 
unjust  taxes  on  the  poor  were  removed  ;  the  privilege  of 
voting  for  their  legislators  was  restored  to  the  people,  and 
many  abuses  in  relation  to  the  expenditure  of  the  public 
money  rectified.  The  House  elected  Bacon  commander  oi 
the  army.  These  measures  were  very  distasteful  to  Berke- 
ley and  his  advisers — he  would  not  give  them  his  sanction. 
Finally,  however,  he  yielded  to  necessity  ;  and  even  went 
so  far  as  to  transmit  to  England,  his  own  and  the  council's 
commendations  of  Bacon's  loyalty  and  patriotism. 

The  Indians  still  continued  their  attacks  upon  the 
settlements,  and  Bacon  with  a  small  force  went  to  punish 
them :  again  the  insincere  Berkeley  proclaimed  him  a 
traitor.  Such  treachery  excited  his  indignation  and  that 
of  the  army.  No  confidence  could  be  placed  in  the  gov- 
ernor's ^rord.  "  It  vexes  me  to  the  heart,"  said  the  gal- 
lant patriot,  "  that  while  I  am  hunting  the  wolves  which 
destroy  our  lambs,  that  I  should  myself  be  pursued  like  a 
savage — the  whole  country  is  witness  to  our  peaceable 
behavior  ;  but  those  in  authority,  how  have  they  obtained 
their  estates  ?  Have  they  not  devoured  the  common  trea- 
sury ?  What  schools  of  learning  have  they  promoted  ?  " 
Such  were  the  questions  "asked,  and  such  were  the  senti- 
ments that  stirred  the  hearts  of  the  people.  They  must 


JAMESTOWN    BURXED.  107 

have  their  rights  restored  :  wives  urged  their  husbands  to   CHAP 
contend  for  their  liberties. 

Berkeley  with  a  few  royalist  followers  and  advisers,  went  1676. 
to  the  eastern  shore  of  the  bay.  There  by  promises  of  plun- 
der, he  collected  a  rabble  of  sailors  belonging  to  some  Eng- 
lish vessels,  and  a  company  of  vagabond  Indians.  When  the 
rumor  of  the  governor's  intentions  spread  throughout  the 
land,  the  people  with  one  accord  met  in  convention  at  the 
Middle  Plantation,  now  Williamsburg,  where  they  deliber- 
ated all  day,  even  until  midnight.  They  decided  it  was 
their  duty  to  defend  themselves  from  the  tyranny  of  the 
governor.  They  adjourned,  however,  and  went  to  their 
homes,  determined  to  be  guided  in  their  conduct  by  the 
course  he  should  pursue.  They  were  not  long  in  suspense, 
for  Berkeley  crossed  over  with  five  ships  to  Jamestown,  to 
put  down  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  a  rebellion.  In  a  gept. 
very  short  time  the  little  army  so  successful  against  the 
Indians,  was  gathered  once  more  under  the  same  leader. 
The  conflict  was  short  ;  Berkeley's  cowardly  rabble  broke 
and  fled  ;  deserting  Jamestown,  they  went  on  board  their 
ships  and  dropped  down  the  river.  The  victors  entered 
the  deserted  town.  A  council  was  held  as  to  what  was  to 
be  done.  Should  they  leave  it  as  a  j)lace  of  defence  for 
their  enemies  ?  It  was  deemed  necessary  to  burn  it. 
Drummond  and  Lawrence,  men  prominent  in  the  popular 
movement,  applied  the  torch  to  their  own  dwellings;  the 
example  was  followed  by  others,  and,  in  a  few  hours,  the 
first  town  founded  by  Englishmen  on  this  continent  was  in 
ruins.  A  crumbling  church-tower  is  all  that  now  remains 
to  mark  the  site  of  old  Jamestown. 

The  good  results  of  this  struggle  were  doomed  to  be      j|M|) 
lost.     Bacon  suddenly  fell  ill  of  a  violent  fever,  which 
terminated  his  life  in  a  few  days.    He  was  called  a  traitor    Oct. 
and  a  rebel  by  Berkeley  and  his  royalist  party,  as  was 
Washington  by  the  same  party  one  hundred  years  after- 
ward. 


i 


108  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.          The  people  were  now  without  a  leader — without  any 
one  to  plead  their  cause.     Berkeley  played  the  tyrant, 

1676.  ravaged  the  country  and  confiscated  the  property  of  the 
patriots.     He  caused  to  perish  on  the  scaffold  more  than 
twenty  of  the  best  men  of  Virginia.    One  or  two  incidents 
may  serve  to  exhibit  his  spirit.     When  Drummond  (who 
is  represented  as   a  "sober,  Scotch  gentleman,  of  good 
repute")  was  brought  into  his  presence,  "You  are  very 
welcome,"  said  he,  bowing  at  the  same  time,  with  mock 
civility ;  "  I  am  more  glad  to  see  you  than  any  man  in 
Virginia  ;  you  shall  be  hanged  in  half  an  hour ! "     He 
derided,  in  vulgar  terms,  a  young  wife  who  came  to  plead 
for  her  husband,  to  take  the  blame  of  his  offence  upon 
herself,  and  to  offer  her  own  life  for  his. 

If  any  one  dared  speak  disrespectfully  of  Berkeley 
or  his  rule,  he  was  publicly  whipped.  The  end  came  at 
last ;  Berkeley  left  the  country,  and  the  people  celebrated 
his  departure  with  bonfires  and  rejoicings.  When  he 
arrived  in  England  he  found  that  public  opinion  severely 
condemned  his  conduct ;  and,  what  was  more  wounding 
to  his  pride,  even  Charles,  to  serve  whom  he  had  stained 
his  soul  with  innocent  blood,  exclaimed,  "  That  old  fool 
has  taken  away  more  lives  in  that  naked  land  than  I  for 
the  death  of  my  father ! "  The  names  and  characters  of 
Bacon  and  his  adherents  were  vilified,  and  for  a  century 
these  slanders  were  not  disproved  ;  the  truth  was  not  per- 
mitted to  be  published.  The  facts,  as  now  known,  prove 
that  the  men  who  thus  opposed  the  tyranny  of  Berkeley 
were  not  rebels  and  traitors,  but  worthy  to  be  num- 
bered among  the  patriots  of  the  land. 

1677.  The  first  Assembly  held  after  this  unsuccessful  strug- 
gle was  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  aristocracy.     All 
the  liberal  laws  passed  by  the  preceding   one  were  re- 
pealed ;  henceforth  only  freeholders  could  vote  for  mem- 

t  bers  of  the  House  of  Burgesses.     The  poor  man  was  as 


*. 

' 


CULPEPPER    AND    EFFINGHAM.  109 

heavily  taxed  as  the  rich,  but  unless  he  was  a  landholder   CHAP. 
he  had  no  vote.  

The  profligate  Charles  gave  Virginia  to  two  of  his  16V8. 
favorites — Arlington  and  Culpepper  ;  the  latter  soon  after 
purchased  the  claim  of  the  former.  The  king  appointed  Cul- 
pepper governor  for  life.  He  came  authorized  to  heal  differ- 
ences between  the  people  and  the  government,  but  he  used  1680. 
the  power  for  his  own  interest  alone  ;  he  valued  Virginia 
only  in  proportion  to  the  money  his  rapacity  could  extort ; 
even  the  soldiers,  sent  to  maintain  his  authority,  he  de- 
frauded of  their  wages.  When  he  had  secured  to  himself 
the  highest  possible  revenue,  he  sailed  for  England.  The 
condition  of  the  Virginians  was  wretched  in  the  extreme  ; 
the  rewards  of  their  industry  went  to  their  rapacious  rulers, 
and  they,  goaded  to  desperation,  were  on  the  point  of 
rebellion. 

Kumors  of  these  discontents  reached  England,  and  the 
truant  governor  reluctantly  left  his  pleasures  to  visit  his 
domain.     Having  the  authority  of  the  king,  Culpepper    1682. 
caused  several  men  of  influence  to  be  hanged  as  traitors. 
The  people  who  owned  farms  in  the  territory,  given  him 
by  royal  grant,  he  now  compelled  to  lose  their  estates,  or 
compromise  by  paying  money.     Charles  had  now  another 
favorite  to   provide  for ;    Culpepper   was   removed,   and    1684. 
Effingham  appointed.      This   change   was   even  for   the 
worse  ;  Effingham  was  more  needy  and  more  avaricious. 

On  the  accession  of  James  II.  what  is  known  in  his- 
tory as  Monmouth's  Kebellion  occurred.  After  its  sup-  1685. 
pression,  multitudes  of  those  implicated  in  it  were  sent  to 
Virginia  and  Maryland  to  be  sold  as  servants  for  a  term 
of  ten  years.  Many  of  these  were  men  of  education  and 
of  good  families.  The  House  of  Burgesses,  to  their  honor 
be  it  said,  declared  these  poor  men  free,  though  the  cruel 
James  had  forbidden  the  exercise  of  such  lenity. 

So  little  were  the  claims  of  humanity  respected  at  this 

time  in  the  West  of  England,  that  it  was  a  common  occur- 

• 

§|f     .">  .  '     • 


110  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,    rence  to  kidnap  persons  of  the  poorer  sort,  and  send  them 

L  to  the  colonies  to  be  sold  as  servants  for  a  term  of  years. 

1685.  These  were  principally  brought  to  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land, as  there  the  planters  required  many  laborers.  The 
trade  was  profitable,  more  so  than  the  African  slave 
trade. 

1688.  After  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary  an  effort  was 
made  to  establish  a  college  in  Virginia,  "  to  educate  a  do- 
mestic succession  of  Church  of  England  ministers,"  as  well 
as  to  teach  the  children  of  the  Indians.  The  celebrated 
Kobert  Boyle  made  a  large  donation,  and  the  king  gave, 
in  addition  to  three  other  grants,  outstanding  quit-rents, 
valued  at  about  £2,000.  Such  was  the  foundation  of  the 

1691.    college  of  William  and  Mary. 

The  Eev.  James  Blair,  said  to  be  the  first  commissary 
sent  to  the  colonies  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  "  to  supply 
the  office  and  jurisdiction  of  the  bishop  in  the  out-places 
of  the  diocese,"  was  its  president  for  fifty  years. 

Though  William  was  thus  moderately  liberal,  he  was 
by  no  means  the  representative  of  the  true  feeling  of  his 
ministry  ;  they  even  looked  upon  this  pittance  as  uncalled 
for.  Blair,  the  pious  and  energetic  Scotchman,  once  urged 
upon  Seymour,  the  attorney-general,  the  importance  of 
establishing  schools  to  educate  ministers  of  the  gospel. 
"  Consider,  sir,"  said  he,  "  that  the  people  of  Virginia 
have  souls  to  ^save."  He  was  answered  by  a  profane  im- 
precation upon  their  souls,  and  told  to  "  make  tobacco." 
This  pithy  rebuff  indicated  the  spirit  and  general  policy 
of  the  home  government ;  it  valued  the  colonies  only  as  a 
source  of  wealth. 

For  many  years  voluntary  emigration  to  Virginia  almost 
ceased.  There  were  no  inducements,  no  encouragement 
to  industry,  all  commerce  was  restricted.  The  planters 
were  at  the  mercy  of  the  English  trader  ;  he  alone  was 
permitted  to  buy  their  tobacco  and  to  sell  them  merchan- 
dise. The  whole  province  was  given  over  to  the  tender 


TROUBLES  IN  MARYLAND.  Ill 

mercies   of  royal   favorites   and   extortioners,    while   the   CHAP. 

printing-press,  that  dread  of  tyrants,  was  still  forbidden.  

How  dearly  did  loyal  Virginia  pay  for  the  honor  of  being    1685. 
named  the  "  Old  Dominion  !  " 

The  struggles  of  the  people  of  Yirginia  under  Bacon 
and  others,  had  an  effect  on  thg.  people  of  Maryland.  At 
the  death  of  Lord  Baltimore,  his  son  and  heir  assumed  the  1675. 
government,  and  ruled  with  justice  till  another  revolution 
in  England  brought  a  change.  The  deputy-governor  hesi-  1688. 
tated  to  acknowledge  William  and  Mary.  This  was  seized 
upon  by  some  restless  spirits  to  excite  discontent  in  the 
minds  of  the  people.  Among  other  absurd  stories,  it  was  said 
that  the  Catholics,  who  were  few  in  number,  were  about  to  in- 
vite the  Indians  to  aid  them  in  massacring  the  Protestants. 
At  this  time  the  Jesuits  had  excited  the  Indians  of  New 
England  and  Canada  against  the  New  England  colonies. 
This  gave  a  shadow  of  probability  to  the  charge.  Under 
the  lead  of  some  persons,  who  professed  to  be  very  zealous 
Protestants,  the  deputy-governor  was  seized,  and  a  con- 
vention called,  which  deposed  Lord  Baltimore,  and  pro- 
claimed the  people  the  true  sovereign.  Two  years  after,  1691.  .  • 
King  William,  taking  them  at  their  word,  unjustly  de- 
prived Lord  Baltimore  of  his  property,  and  made  the  colony 
a  royal  province.  The  people  now  suffered  the  penalty 
for  ill  treating  their  benevolent  proprietary.  The  king  * 
placed  over  them  a  royal  governor  ;  changed  their  laws  for 
the  worse  ;  established  the  Church  of  England,  and  taxed 
them  to  maintain  it ;  did  not  promote  education,  but  pro- 
hibited printing ;  discouraged  their  domestic  manufac- 
tures ;  and  finally  disfranchised  the  Catholics,  who  had 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  colony  sixty  years  before.  The 
rights  of  Lord  Baltimore  were  afterward  restored  to  his 
infant  child,  and  the  original  form  of  government  was  1716. 
established.  No  colony  experienced  so  many  vicissitudes 
as  Maryland. 

%* 


CHAPTEK    XIII. 

COLONIZATION   OF   NEW   YORK. 


Hudson's  Discoveries. — Indian  Traffic. — Fort  on  the  Isle  of  Manhattan. — 
Walloons  the  first  Settlers.— Peter  Mimiits.— -The  Patroons.— Van 
Twiller  Governor ;  his  Misrule. — Succeeded  by  Kieft. — Difficulties  with 
the  Indians. — They  seek  Protection;  their  Massacre. — Peace  con- 
cluded.— Stuyvesant  Governor. — The  Swedish  Settlement  on  the  Dela- 
ware.— Pavonia. — Threatening  Rumors. — New  Netherland  surrendered 
to  England. — New  Jersey  sold  by  the  Duke  of  York. — The  Influence  of 
the  Dutch. 

CHAP.  WHEN  there  were  high  hopes  of  discovering  a  north-west 

L  passage  to  India,  Henry  Hudson  was  sent  in  search  of  it 

1609.  by  a  company  of  London  merchants.  He  was  unsuccess- 
ful ;  yet  his  enthusiasm  was  not  diminished  by  his  failure. 
He  requested  to  be  again  sent  on  the  same  errand,  but  the 
merchants  were  unwilling  to  incur  further  expense.  He  then 
applied  to  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  ;  the  directors  of 
which,  at  Amsterdam,  furnished  him  with  a  ship,  the  Half- 
Moon,  with  liberty  to  exercise  his  own  judgment  in  the  pro- 
secution of  the  enterprise.  He  first  sailed  to  the  north-east, 
away  beyond  the  Capes  of  Norway,  as  far  as  the  ice  would 
permit.  He  saw  that  an  effort  in  that  direction  would  be 
fruitless.  He  turned  to  the  west,  crossed  the  Atlantic, 
and  coasted  along  the  continent  till  he  found  himself  op- 
posite the  Capes  of  Virginia ;  then  turning  to  the  north 
he  entered  "  a  great  bay  with  rivers,"  since  known  as  the 
Delaware  ;  still  further  north  he  passed  through  a  narrow 
channel,  and  found  himself  in  a  beautiful  bay.  Here  he 


I 


A    CHANGE    WROUGHT.  113 

remained  some  days.     The  natives,  "  clothed  in  mantles   CHAP. 
of  feathers  and  robes   of  fur/'  visited  his  ship.     Their  '_ 


astonishment  was  great ;  they  thought  it  was  the  canoe  1609. 
of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  the  white  faces,  so  unlike  them- 
selves, were  his  servants.  Hudson  explored  the  bay,  and 
noticed  a  large  stream  flowing  from  the  north  ;  this,  thought 
he,  leads  to  the  Eastern  Seas.  That  stream,  called  by 
some  of  the  native  tribes  the  Cahohatatea,  or  Biver  of 
Mountains,  and  by  others  the  Shatemuc,  he  explored  for 
one  hundred  and .  fifty  miles  ;  it  did  not  lead  to  the 
Eastern  Seas,  yet  that  river  has  immortalized  the  name 
of  Henry  Hudson. 

What  a  change  has  come  over  the  "  Kiver  of  Moun- 
tains "  since  he  threaded  his  way  up  its  stream  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  ago  !  It  has  become  the  highway  to 
the  great  inland  seas  of  a  continent,  upon  whose  bosoms 
float  the  fruits  of  the  industry  of  millions  ;  and  the  island 
at  its  mouth  the  heart  of  a  nation's  commerce,  whose  every 
throb  is  felt  throughout  that  nation's  length  and  breadth. 
From  the  highest  church-steeple,1  on  this  Isle  of  Man- 
hattan, the  eye  takes  in  a  horizon  containing  a  population 
one-third  as  great  as  that  of  the  thirteen  colonies  at  the 
time  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  There  are  other 
changes  which  the  philanthropist  loves  to  contemplate. 
Here  are  seen  the  humanizing  influences  of  Christianity, 
of  civilization,  of  intelligence,  and  of  industry,  embodied 
in  institutions  of  learning,  of  science,  and  of  benevo- 
lence, that  pour  forth  their  charities  and  blessings,  not 
alone  for  this  land  but  for  others. 

The  coincidence  is  striking,  that,  nearly  at  the  same 
time,  the  representatives  of  three  nations  were  penetrating 
the  wilderness  and  approaching  each  other.     Cham  plain, 
on  behalf  of  France,  was  exploring  the  northern  part  of      ^ 
New  York  ;  John  Smith,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  English 

• 

1  Trinity. 


114  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  colonization,  was  pushing  his  discoveries  up  to  the  head 
XIIL  waters  of  the  Chesapeake,  while  the  Half-Moon  was  slowly 
1610.  sounding  her  way  up  the  Hudson. 

Hudson  arrived  safely  in  England,  but  he  was  not  per- 
mitted by  the  government^  continue  in  the  service  of  the 
Dutch,  lest  they  should  derive  advantage  in  trade  from  his 
discoveries.  However,  he  found  means  to  transmit  to  his 
employers  at  Amsterdam,  an  account  of  his  voyage.  Once 
more  he  sailed  under  trie  patronage  of  some  English  mer- 
chants. He  passed  through  the  straits  into  the  bay  known 
by  his  name;  groped  among  a  multitude  of  islands  till  late 
in  the  season,  and  then  determined  to  winter  there,  and  in 
the  spring  continue  his  search  for  the  wished-for  passage. 
When  spring  came  his  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted  ; 
it  was  impossible  to  prosecute  his  design.  With  tears  of 
disappointment  he  gave  orders  to  turn  the  prow  of  his  ves- 
sel homeward.  A  day  or  two  afterward  his  crew  mutinied. 
They  seized  him,  put  him,  with  his  son  and  seven  seamen, 
four  of  whom  were  ill,  on  board  the  shallop,  and  inhumanly 
left  them  to  perish.  "  The  gloomy  waste  of  waters  which 
bears  his  name,  is  his  tomb  and  his  monument." 

Hudson,  in  his  communication  to  his  employers, 
described  the*  extensive  region  he  had  discovered  as  well 
watered  by  rivers,  and  as  lying  around  bays  and  inlets  ;  as 
covered  with  forests  abounding  in  the  finest  timber  for 
ship-building  ;  and  as  "  a  land  as  beautiful  as  ever  man 
trod  upon/'  The  numerous  tribes  of  Indians  who  met 
him  in  friendship,  and  the  multitudes  of  beaver  and  otter, 
gave  indication  also  of  a  profitable  trade. 

The  next  year  a  ship  was  sent  to  trade  ;  the  traffic  was 
profitable,  and  was  still  further  prosecuted.  In  a  few 
years  there  were  forts  or  trading  houses  on  the  river,  as  far 
up 'as  Fort  Orange,  since  Albany.  A  rude  fort  at  the 
i*  jj*  i6l4.  lower  end  of  Manhattan  island  was  the  germ  of  the  present 
city  of  NEW  YORK.  The  Dutch  during  this  time  were 


* 

EMIGRATION   ENCOURAGED.  115 

"busy  exploring  the  waters  from  the  Delaware  to  Cape   CHAP. 

Cod.     They  were  as  yet  but  a  company  of  traders  ;  no  L 

emigrants  had  left  Holland  with  the  intention  of  making    1614. 
a,  permanent  settlement. 

A  company  was  formed,  under  the  title  of  the  Dutch  1621. 
West  India  Company ;  an  association  for  the  purpose  of 
trade  only.  They  took  possession  of  the  territory  as  tem- 
porary occupants  ;  if  they  grew  rich  they  were  indifferent 
as  to  other  matters  ;  they  had  no  promise  of  protection 
from  Holland,  and  as  a  matter  of  policy  they  were  peace- 
ful. The  States-General  granted  them  the  monopoly  of 
trade  from  Cape  May  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  named  the 
entire  territory  New  Netherland.  The  claims  of  the  Eng- 
lish, French,  and  Dutch  thus  overlapped  each  other,  and 
led  to  "  territorial  disputes,  national  rivalries,  religious 
antipathies,  and  all  the  petty  hatreds  and  jealousies  of 
trade." 

About  thirty  families,  Walloons  or  French  Protestants, 
who  had  fled  to  Holland  to  avoid  persecution,  were  the 
first  to  emigrate  with  the  intention  of  remaining.  Some 
of  these  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now  the  Navy 
Yard  in  Brooklyn,  others  went  up  the  river  to  Fort 
Orange. 

The  central  position  of  the  island  of  Manhattan  ob- 
tained for  it  the  honor  of  being  chosen  as  the  residence  of 
the  agent  for  the  company.  Peter  Minuits  was  appointed 
such,  under  the  title  of  governor,  and  the  few  cottages  at 
the  south  end  of  the  island  were  dignified  with  the  name  of 
New  Amsterdam.  The  island  itself  belonged  exclusively 
to  the  company,  and  was  purchased  from  the  Indians  for 
about  twenty-four  dollars.  Effort  was  now  made  to  found 
a  State.  Every  person  who  should  emigrate  had  the  privi- 
lege of  owning  as  much  land  as  he  could  properly  culti- 
vate, provided  it  was  not  on  lands  especially  claimed  by 
the  company.  To  encourage  emigration,  it  was  ordered 
that  any  member  of  the  company  who  in  four  years  should 


116  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   induce  fifty  persons  to  settle  anywhere  in  New  Nether- 

'_  land,  except  on  the  island  of  Manhattan,  should  he  recog- 

1625.  nised  as  "  Patroon,"  or  "  Lord  of  the  Manor."  Under 
this  arrangement  "Patroons"  could  purchase  a  tract  of 
land  sixteen  miles  long  hy  eight  in  width.  They  secured 
to  themselves,  by  purchase  from  the  Indians,  the  most 
valuable  lands  and  places  for  trade.  The  less  rich  were 
by  necessity  compelled  to  become  tenants  of  the  Patroons. 
The  people,  thus  deprived  of  that  independence  which  is 
essential  to  the  progress  of  any  community,  took  but  little 
interest  in  cultivating  the  soil,  or  in  improving  the 
country. 

The  company,  for  the  sake  of  gain,  determined,  even  at 
the  expense  of  the  prosperity  of  the  colonists,  to  make 
New  Amsterdam  the  centre  of  the  trade  of  New  Nether- 
land.  Under  the  penalty  of  banishment  the  people  were 
forbidden  to  manufacture  the  most  common  fabrics  for 
clothing.  No  provision  was  made  for  the  education  of  the 
young,  or  the  preaching  of  the  gospel ;  although  it  was 
enjoined  upon  the  Patroons  to  provide  "  a  minister  and  a 
schoolmaster,"  or  at  least  a  "  comforter  of  the  sick,"  whose 
duty  it  should  be  to  read  to  the  people  texts  of  Scripture 
and  the  creeds.  The  company  also  agreed,  if  the  specu- 
lation should  prove  profitable,  to  furnish  the  Patroons  with 
African  slaves. 

As  Hudson  had  discovered,  Delaware  bay  and  river,  the 
Dutch  claimed  the  territory.  Samuel  Grodyn  purchased 
from  the  Indians  all  their  lands  from  Cape  Henlopen  to 
1629.  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware  river.  Two  years  after  this 
thirty  colonists  arrived,  fully  prepared  to  found  a  settle- 
ment. When  De  Vries,  who  was  to  be  Patroon  and  com- 
mander, came  the  next  year,  he  found  not  a  vestige  of 
the  settlement ;  all  had  perished  by  the  hands  of  the 


After  the  resignation  of  Minuits,  Walter  Yan  Twiller, 
through  the  "  influence  of  kinsmen  and  friends,"  was  ap- 


WILLIAM   KIEFT    GOVERNOR.  117 


pointed  governor.  He  proved  himself  unfitted  for  the 
station.  As  a  clerk,  he  was  acquainted  with  the  mere 
routine  of  business,  but  ignorant  of  human  nature  ;  as  con-  1633. 
ceited  as  he  was  deficient  in  judgment  and  prudence, 
he  failed  to  secure  the  respect  of  those  he  governed. 
In  his  zeal  for  the  interests  of  his  employers,  he  neglected 
the  rights  of  the  people,  and  was  so  inconsistent  in  the 
management  of  public  affairs  that  Dominie  Bogardus  sent 
him  a  letter  of  severe  reproof,  threatening  to  give  him 
"  such  a  shake  from  the  pulpit  on  the  following  Sunday  1638. 
as  would  make  him  shudder." 

The  inefficient  Van  T  wilier  was  succeeded  by  William 
Kieft.  Though  he  had  not  the  same  defects  as  Van 
Twiller,  his  appointment  was  a  most  unfortunate  event  for 
the  colony.  A  bankrupt  in  Holland,  his  portrait  was 
affixed  to  the  gallows  ;  an  evidence  of  the  estimation  in 
which  his  character  was  held.  Avaricious  and  unscrupu- 
lous, so  arbitrary  in  his  measures  that  during  his  rule  the 
colony  was  in  a  continual  turmoil,  he  quarrelled  with  the 
Swedes  on  the  Delaware,  had  difficulties  with  the  Eng- 
lish in  New  England,  made  the  Indians  his  enemies,  and 
had  scarcely  a  friend  in  his  own  colony. 

The  Dutch  were  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Indians 
during  the  rule  of  Van  Twiller.  It  was  forbidden  by  law 
to  sell  them  fire-arms  ;  but  the  traders  up  the  river,  indif- 
ferent to  the  interests  of  the  settlers,  sold  them  guns  to 
such  an  extent,  that  at  one  time  more  than  four  hundred 
of  the  Mohawks,  or  Iroquois,  were  armed  with  muskets. 
By  this  means  these  terrible  marauders  and  despots  of  the 
wilderness  were  rendered  more  haughty  and  dangerous. 
They  paid  enormous  prices  for  guns,  that  they  might  be 
able  to  meet  their  enemies  the  Canadian  Indians,  who 
were  supplied  with  fire-arms  by  the  French.  Though 
the  traders  did  not  sell  guns  to  the  tribes  living  near  New 
Amsterdam  and  on  the  river,  yet  they  sold  them  rum. 

Kieft  pretended  that  the  company  had  ordered  him  to 


118  HISTOKY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   levy  an  annual  tribute  upon  the  river  Indians — the  Mo- 

1  hegans  and  other  clans  of  the  Algonquin  race.     They  re- 

1638.  fused  to  pay  any  tribute,  saying  he  "  was  a  shabby  fellow 
to  come  and  live  on  their  lands  without  being  invited,  and 
then  want  to  take  away  their  corn  for  nothing/'  Such 
injustice,  with  the  partiality  shown  to  their  enemies,  the 
Mohawks,  gradually  alienated  their  feelings  of  friendship 
for  the  Dutch. 

An  act  of  Kieft  awoke  the  slumbering  anger  of  the 
savages.  The  Karitans,  a  tribe  living  on  the  river  which 
bears  their  name,  were  accused  of  stealing  hogs,  which 
had  been  taken  by  some  Dutch  traders.  Kieft  did  not 
inquire  into  the  truth  of  the  charge,  but  sent  soldiers  to 
punish  them,  who  destroyed  their  corn  and  killed  some  of 
their  number.  De  Vries,  who,  in  the  mean  time,  had 
planted  a  settlement  on  Staten  Island,  jwas  himself  a 
friend  of  the  Indians.  The  Earitans  attacked  this  settle- 
1641.  ment  and  killed  four  men.  The  people  now  urged  the 
governor  to  conciliate  the  savages,  but  without  effect. 
Twenty  years  before  a  chieftain  had  been  killed  by  a  Dutch 
hunter  in  the  presence  of  his  nephew,  then  a  little  boy ; 
that  boy,  now  a  man,  according  to  their  custom,  avenged 
the  death  of  his  uncle  by  murdering  an  innocent  Dutch- 
man. Kieft  demanded  that  the  young  man  should  be 
given  up  to  him,  to  be  punished  as  a  murderer.  The 
tribe  would  not  comply  with. the  demand,  but  offered  to 
pay  the  price  of  blood.  The  violent  governor  refused  any 
such  compromise. 

1G42.  With  his  permission  a  meeting  of  the  heads  of  fami- 
lies was  called.  They  chose  twelve  of  their  number  to 
investigate  the  affairs  of  the  colony.  They  passed  very 
soon  from  the  Indian  difficulties  to  other  abuses  ;  even  to- 
the  despotic  actions  of  the  governor  himself.  As  the 
"  twelve  men  "  refused  to  be  controlled  by  Kieft,  but  per- 
severed in  expressing  their  opinions  of  his  conduct,  he 


* 

MASSACRE   OF   THE   INDIANS.  119 

dissolved  the  Assembly.     Thus  ended  the  first  representa-   CHAP. 
tive  Assembly  in  New  Netherland.  '_ 

Nearly  all  the  difficulties  with  the  Indians  may  be  1642. 
traced  to  some  injustice  practised  upon  them  by  the 
whites.  An  instance  of  this  kind  now  occurred  which  led 
to  direful  results.  A  Dutchman  sold  a  young  Indian,  the 
son  of  a  chief,  brandy,  and  when  he  was  intoxicated, 
cheated  and  drove  him  away.  The  Indian,  raging  with 
drink,  and  maddened  by  the  treatment  he  had  received, 
went  to  his  home,  obtained  his  bow  and  arrows,  returned 
and  shot  the  Dutchman  dead.  The  chiefs  of  the  murder- 
er's tribe  hastened  to  the  governor  to  explain  the  matter, 
and  to  pay  the  price  of  blood ;  they  wished  for  peace  ;  but 
the  governor  was  inexorable.  He  demanded  the  murderer  ; 
but  he  had  fled  to  a  neighboring  tribe.  "  It  is  your  own 
fault  ! "  exclaimed  the  indignant  chiefs  ;  "  why  do  you 
sell  brandy  to  our  young  men  ?  it  makes  them  crazy  ; — 
your  own  people  get  drunk,  and  fight  with  knives." 

Just  at  this  time  came  a  company  of  eighty  Mohawks, 
all  armed  with  muskets,  to  demand  tribute  of  the  enfee- 
bled Eiver  Tribes.  The  latter  fled  to  the  Dutch  for  pro- 
tection. Now  is  the  time,  urged  the  people,  to  obtain 
forever  the  friendship  of  the  Indians  living  around  us,  by 
rescuing  them  from  the  rapacious  Mohawks.  Now  is  the 
time,  thought  the  stubborn  and  cruel  Kieft,  to  extermi- 
nate those  who  have  fled  to  me  for  safety. 

"  If  you  murder  these  poor  creatures  who  have  put 
themselves  under  your  protection,  you  will  involve  the 
whole  colony  in  ruin,  and  their  blood,  and  the  blood  of 
your  own  people,  will  be  required  at  your  hands  ! "  urged 
the  kind-hearted  De  Tries.  The  admonition  was  un- 
heeded. 

The  unsuspecting  victims  of  this  scheme  of  treachery 
and  barbarous  cruelty  were  with  the  tribe  of  Hacken- 
sacks,  just  beyond  Hoboken.      About  the  hour  of  mid-    Feb., 
night  the  soldiers  from  the  fort,  and  some  freebooters  from 


120  HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,    the  ships  in  the  harbor,  passed  over  the  river.     Soon  were 

1  heard  the  shrieks  of  the  dying  Indians  ; — the  carnage 

1643.  continued,  the  poor  victims  ran  to  the  river,  to  pass  over 
to  their  supposed  friends  in  New  Amsterdam.  But  they 
were  driven  into  the  water  ;  the  mother,  who  rushed  to 
save  her  drowning  child,  was  pushed  in,  that  both  might 
perish  in  the  freezing  flood.  These  were  not  the  only 
victims.  Another  company  of  Indians,  trusting  to  the 
Dutch  for  protection,  were  encamped  on  the  island,  but  a 
short  distance  from  the  fort.  They  were  nearly  all  mur- 
dered in  the  same  manner.  In  the  morning  the  returning 
soldiers  received  the  congratulations  of  Kieft.  When  the 
people  learned  of  the  massacre  they  were  filled  with  hor- 
ror at  its  atrocity,  and  expressed  their  detestation  of  its 
author,  and  their  fears  that  all  the  Indians  in  their  neigh- 
borhood would  become  their  deadly  enemies.  The  guilty 
Kieft  cowered  before  the  storm  ;  it  would  have  been  well 
if  the  only  effects  of  his  acts  had  been  the  reproaches  of 
the  people. 

When  it  became  known  that  it  was  not  their  enemies 
the  Mohawks,  but  their  pretended  friends  the  Dutch,  who 
had  wantonly  killed  their  countrymen,  the  rage  of  the 
Eiver  Tribes  knew  no  bounds.  They  rose  as  one  man  to 
take  revenge.  Every  nook  and  corner,  every  swamp  and 
thicket,  became  an  ambush  for  the  enraged  savages.  The 
settlements  up  the  river  were  destroyed.  On  Long  Island, 
on  Staten  Island,  the  retribution  fell ;  all  around  Man- 
hattan the  smoke  of  burning  dwellings  arose  to  heaven. 
The  people  at  a  distance  from  the  fort  were  either  mur- 
dered or  taken  captive,  especially  the  women  and  chil- 
dren. All  who  could  deserted  their  homes,  and  sought 
safety  in  the  fort  at  Manhattan  ;  many  of  whom  after- 
ward left  for  Holland. 

A  pleasing  incident  is  related  of  Indian  gratitude. 
De  Yries  had,  on  that  fearful  night,  rescued  an  Indian 
and  his  wife  from  death.  When  his  settlement  on  Staten 


A    TEMPORARY    TRUCE.  121 


Island  was  attacked,  this  Indian  hastened  to  his  country- 
men  who  were  besieging  the  people  in  the  block-house,   _ 
and  told  them  how  he  and  his  wife  had  been  rescued.    The    1643. 
besiegers  immediately  told  the  people  they  would  molest 
them  no  more  ;  and  they  kept  their  word. 

A  temporary  truce  was  made  at  Kockaway  on  Long  Sept. 
Island.  The  chiefs  of  a  number  of  tribes  agreed  to  meet 
the  messengers  of  the  Dutch,  and  treat  of  peace.  De 
Vries,  whom  the  Indians  knew  to  be  their  friend,  went 
with  two  others  to  the  interview.  When  the  conference 
was  opened  one  of  the  chiefs  arose,  having  in  his  hand  a 
number  of  little  sticks;  taking  one,  he  commenced  :  "  When 
you  first  came  to  our  shores  you  wanted  food  ;  we  gave 
you  our  beans  and  our  corn,  and  now  you  murder  our 
people/'  He  took  another  stick  :  "  The  men  whom  your 
first  ships  left  to  trade,  we  guarded  and  fed  ;  we  gave 
them  our  daughters  for  wives  ;  some  of  those  whom  you 
murdered  were  of  your  own  blood."  Many  sticks  still  re- 
mained, but  the  envoys  did  not  wish  to  hear  a  further  re- 
cital of  wrongs.  They  proposed  that  they  should  both 
forget  the  past,  and  now  make  peace  forever.  Peace  was 
made.  It  was  not  satisfactory  to  the  young  warriors  ;  they 
thought  "the  bloody  men,"  as  they  now  called  the 
Dutch,  had  not  paid  the  full  price  of  the  lives  they  had 
taken  ;  and  war  broke  forth  again.  Now  the  leader  of 
the  Dutch  was  Captain  John  Underhill,  who  had  had  ex- 
perience in  the  Pequod  war  in  New  England.  For  two 
years  the  Indians  were  hunted  from  swamp  to  swamp, 
through  winter  and  summer  ;  yet  they  were  not  sub- 
dued. They  lay  in  ambush  round  the  settlements,  and 
picked  off  the  husbandman  from  his  labor,  and  carried 
into  captivity  his  wife  and  children.  There  was  no  security 
from  the  midnight  attack  ;  scarcely  any  corn  was  planted.; 
famine  and  utter  ruin  stared  the  colony  in  the  face. 

Sixteen  hundred  of  the  Indians  had  been  killed,  and  the 
number  of  white  people  was  so  much  reduced,  that,  besides 


122  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   traders,  there  were  not  more  than  one  hundred  persons  on 
_  L  the  Isle  of  Manhattan.     What  a  ruin  had  been  wrought 


1643.    by  the  wicked  perverseness  of  one  man  ! 

At  length  both  parties  became  weary  of  war.  The 
chieftains  of  the  tribes  around  New  Amsterdam,  and,  as 
mediators,  a  deputation  from  their  ancient  enemies  the 
Mohawks,  met  the  deputies  of  the  Dutch  beneath  the 
open  sky,  on  the  place  now  known  as  the  Battery,  in  New 
York  city,  and  there  concluded  a  peace. 

1645.  Thanksgivings   burst  forth  from  the  people   at   the 
j^  prospect  of  returning  safety.     There  was  no  consolation 

for  Kieft  ;  he  was  justly  charged  by  them  with  being  the 
cause  of  all  their  misfortunes.  The  company  censured 
him,  and  disclaimed  his  barbarous  conduct.  He  was 
without  a  friend  in  the  colony.  After  two  years,  with  his 
ill-gotten  gains,  he  sailed  for  his  native  land.  The  vessel 
was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Wales,  and,  with  many  others, 

1646.  he  was  lost. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  difficulties  there  were  those 
who  labored  to  instruct  the  poor  heathen  Indians  of  New 
Netherland.  Several  years  before  the  missionary  Eliot 
commenced  his  labors  with  the  tribes  near  Boston,  Mega- 
polensis,  the  Dutch  clergyman  at  Fort  Orange,  endeavored 
to  teach  the  Mohawks  the  truths  of  the  gospel.  He  strove 
to  learn  their  language,  that  he  might  "  speak  and  preach 
to  them  fluently,"  but  without  much  success  ;  their  lan- 
guage was,  as  he  expressed  it,  so  "heavy."  The  grave 
warriors  would  listen  respectfully  when  told  to  renounce 
certain  sins,  but  they  would  immediately  ask  why  white 
men  committed  the  same.  Efforts  were  made  afterward 
to  instruct  in  Christianity  the  tribes  around  Manhattan, 
but  the  good  work  was  neutralized  by  other  and  evil  in- 
fluences. 

The  West  India  Company  appointed  Peter  Stuyvesant 
to  picceed  Kieft  as  governor.  He  had  been  accustomed 
to  military  rule,  and  was  exceedingly  arbitrary  in  his  gov- 


" 

THE    SWEDES   ON   THE    DELAWARE.  123 

eminent ;  honest  in  his  endeavors  to  fulfil  his  trust  to  the   CHAP. 

company,  he  also  overlooked  the  rights  of  the  people.    He  

thought  their  duty  was  to  pursue  their  business,  and  pay  1646. 
their  taxes,  and  not  trouble  their  brains  about  his  man- 
ner of  government.  The  colony  was  well-nigh  ruined 
when  Stuyvesant  came  into  power ;  for  nearly  five  years 
the  dark  cloud  of  war  had  been  hanging  over  it.  The  In- 
dians had  been  dealt  with  harshly  and  treacherously ; 
policy  as  well  as  mercy  demanded  that  they  should  be 
treated  leniently.  The  company  desired  peace  with  the 
various  tribes,  for  the  success  of  trade  depended  upon 
their  good-will. 

Although  the  Dutck  claimed  the  territory  from  Cape 
Cod  to  the  Capes  of  Virginia,  they  preferred  to  negotiate 
with  New  England,  and  desired  that  the  wars  between 
their  mother  countries  in  the  Old  World  should  not  dis- 
turb the  harmony  of  the  New, 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  Connecticut  people 
annoyed  Stuyvesant  exceedingly.  The  absurd  stories  told 
by  the  wily  Mohegan  chief,  Uncas,  of  the  Dutch  con- 
spiring with  the  Narragansets  to  cut  off  the  English,  found 
a  too  ready  credence  ;  so  ready  as  to  leave  the  impression 
that  such  stories  were  rather  welcome  than  otherwise,  pro- 
vided they  furnished  an  excuse  for  encroaching  upon 
the  territory  of  the  Dutch.  When  accused  of  this  con- 
spiracy, said  a  sachem  of  the  Narragansets,  "  I  am  poor, 
but  no  present  can  make  me  an  enemy  of  the  English  ! " 

We  have  now  to  speak  of  others  settling  on  territory 
claimed  by  the  Dutch.  Gustavus  Adolphus,  the  King  of 
Sweden,  was  induced  to  engage  in  sending  a  colony  to  the 
New  World.  He  wished  to  found  an  asylum  to  which 
Protestants  of -Europe  could  flee.  Peter  Minuits,  who  has 
already  been  mentioned,  as  commercial  agent  at  New 
Amsterdam,  offered  his  services  to  lead  the  company  of 
emigrants.  The  same  year  that  Kieft  came  as  governor 
to  New  Amsterdam,  Minuits  landed  on  the  shores  of  the 


124  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Delaware  with  a  company  of  emigrants,  about  fifty  in  num- 
ber.     They  purchased  from  the  Indians  the  territory  on 


1638.  the  west  side  of  the  bay  and  river  from  Cape  Henlopen 
to  the  falls  at  Trenton.  Thip  was  very  nearly  the  soil  of 
the  present  State  of  Delaware.  Nearly  all  this  territory 
had  been  purchased  some  years  before  by  the  Dutch,  who 
looked  upon  the  Swedes  as  intruders.  The  latter  built  a  fort 
and  a  church  on  the  site  of  Wilmington,  and  named  the 
country  New  Sweden.  The  Dutch  protested,  but  the 
Swedes  went  quietly  to  work,  and  increased  from  year  to 
year  by  accessions  from  their  native  land.  For  years  the 
disputes  between  the  two  colonies  continued ;  at  length 
Stuy vesant,  obeying  the  orders  of  the  company,  determined 
to  make  the  Swedes  submit  to  Dutch  rule.  The  former, 

1655.    m  surrendering,  were  to  lose  none  of  their  rights  as  citi- 
zens.    Thus,  after  an  existence  of  seventeen  years,  the 
Swedish   colony  passed  under   the   sway  of  the  Dutch. 
Many  of  them  became  dissatisfied  with  the  arbitrary  acts    M 
of  their  rulers,  and  from  time  to  time  emigrated  to  Vir-   ; 
ginia  and  Maryland. 

What  is  now  New  Jersey  was  also  included  in  the  ter- 
ritory claimed  by  the  Dutch.  They  built  a  fort,  a  short 
distance  below  Camden,  which  they  named  Nassau. 

1623.    Michael  Pauw  bought  of  the  Indians  Staten  Island,  and 

all  the  land  extending  from  Hoboken  to  the  river  Earitan. 

t     He  named  the  territory  Pavonia.     Meanwhile  the  Swedes 

passed  over  to  the  east  side  of  Delaware  bay,  andffestab- 

lished  trading-houses  from  Cape  May  to  Burlington. 

Manhattan  in  the  meanwhile  was  gaining  numbers  by 
emigration.  The  stern  Stuyvesant  was  sometimes  intol- 
erant, but  the  company  wished  the  people  to  enjoy  the 
rights  of  conscience.  They  wished  New  Amsterdam  to  be 
as  liberal  to  the  exile  for  religion's  sake  as  was  its  name- 
sake in  the  Old  World.  Every  nation  in  Europe  had 
hermits  representatives.  It  was  remarked  "that  the  in- 
habitants were  of  different  sects  and  nations,  and  that 


DISCONTENTS   OF    THE   PEOPLE.  125 

they  spoke  many  different  languages."     The  public  docu-  CHAP. 

ments  were  issued  sometimes  in  Dutch,  sometimes  inEng-  '-& 

lish,  and  sometimes  in  French.  Two  centuries  ago  it  was 
prophesied  that  here  would.be  centred  the  commerce  of  1658. 
the  world.  Time  is  realizing  the  prediction.  To  pro- 
mote emigration  the  mechanic  had  his  passage  given  him. 
The  poor  persecuted  Waldenses  came  from  their  native 
valleys  and  mountains  at  the  expense  of  the  old  city  of 
Amsterdam.  Africa,  too,  had  her  representatives.  Her 
sons  and  daughters  were  brought  as  slaves  at  the  charge 
of  the  West  India  Company;  and  the  city  of  Amsterdam, 
in  this  case  also,  shared  the  expense  and  the  profit. 

The  spirit  of  democracy  began  to  pervade  the  minds 
of  the  Dutch  ;  the  credit  of  this  has  been  given  to  the 
New  Englanders,  who  were  continually  enlightening  them 
on  the  subject  of  the  freedom  of  Englishmen.  This 
annoyed  Stuyvesant  beyond  endurance.  He  often  ex- 
pressed his  contempt  for  the  "wavering  multitude  ;"  he 
despised  the  people,  and  scoffed  at  the  idea  that  they 
could  govern  themselves  :  it  was  their  duty  to  work,  and 
not  discuss  the  mysteries  of  government.  They  had  no 
voice  in  the  choice  of  their  rulers,  and  were  even  forbidden 
to  hold  meetings  to  talk  of  their  affairs.  Stuyvesant 
finally  consented  to  let  them  hold  a  convention  of  two 
delegates  from  each  settlement ;  but  as  soon  as  these  dele-  .  .'-> 
gates  began  to  discuss  his  conduct  as  governor,  he  dis- 
solved the  convention,  bluntly  telling  them  he  derived  his 
*  authority  from  the  company,  and  not  from  "  a  few  ignorant 
subjects."  When  a  citizen,  in  a  case  in  which  he  thought 
himself  aggrieved,  threatened  to  appeal  to  the  States- 
General  of  Holland,  "If  you  do,"  said  the  angry  gov- 
ernor, "I  will  make  you  a  foot  shorter  than  you  are." 
When  the  day  of  trial  came,  Stuyvesant  found  that  by 
such  despotic  measures  he  had  lost  the  good-will  of  the 
people  of  every  class  and  nation. 

Kumors  were  now  rife  that  the  English  were  about  to 


126  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    subdue  New  Nethe|land.     The  people  for  the  most  part 

L  were  indifferent ;  they  had  now  no  civil  rights,  and  to 

1664.  them  the  change  might  be  for  the  better ;  it  was  not 
probable  that  it  would  be  for  the  worse.  The  English 
portion  longed  for  the  rights  of  Englishmen.  Though 
there  had  been  war  between  England  and  Holland,  the 
people  of  Virginia  and  New  England,  except  perhaps 
those  of  Connecticut,  were  well-disposed  toward  the 
Dutch  as  neighbors. 

Stuyvesant  was  soon  relieved  of  his  troubles  with  the 
people  of  Manhattan.  Charles  II.,  without  regard  to  the 
rights  of  Holland,  with  whom  he  was  at  peace,  or  to  the 
rights  of  the  people  of  Connecticut  under  their  charter, 
gave  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  the  entire  country 
from  the  Connecticut  to  the  Delaware.  The  first  intima- 
tion Stuyvesant  had  of  this  intended  robbery,  was  the  pres- 
ence of  a  fleet,  under  Eichard  Nicholls,  sent  to  put  in 
execution  the  orders  of  the  English  king.  The  fleet  to 
brought  to  Boston  the  commissioners  for  New  England,  and 
there  received  recruits,  and  sailed  for  New  Amsterdam, 
All  was  in  confusion  ;  Stuyvesant  wished  to  make  resist- 
ance, but  the  people  were  indifferent.  What  was  to  be 
done  ?  The  fleet  was  in  the  bay,  and  the  recruits  from 
New  England  had  just  pitched  their  tents  in  Brooklyn  : 
Long  Island  was  already  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Nicholls  sent  Stuyvesant  a  letter  requiring  him  to  surren- 
der his  post,  which  the  valiant  governor  refused  to  do  with- 
out a  struggle.  A  meeting  of  the  principal  inhabitants 
was  called ;  they  very  properly  asked  for  the  letter  which 
the  governor  had  received  from  the  English  admiral.  They 
wished  to  know  the  terms  he  offered  to  induce  them  to 
acknowledge  English  authority.  Kather  than1  send  the 
letter  to  be  read  to  the  "wavering  multitude/'  the  angry 
Stuyvesant  tore  it  to  pieces.  Instead,  therefore,  of  prepar- 
ing to  defend  themselves  against  the  enemy,  the  people 
protested  against  the  arbitrary  conduct  of  the  governor. 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    THE    DUTCH.  127 

At  length  the  capitulation  was  made,  on  the  condition  that  CHAP. 

the  people  should  be  protected  in  their  rights  and  property,  '_  t 

religion  and  institutions.  Sept. 

In  a  few  days  Fort  Orange  surrendered  ;  and  in  a  few 
weeks  the  Dutch  and  the  Swedes  on  the  shores  of  the  Dela-   # 
ware  passed  under  the  rule  of  England.     Nicholls  was 
appointed  governor.    New  Amsterdam  was  to  be  hereafter 
known  as  NEW  YORK,  and  Fort  Orange  as  ALBANY. 

A  treaty  was  also  made  with  the  Mohawks  :  they  had 
been  the  friends  of  the  Dutch,  and  they  now  became  the 
friends  of  the  English,  and  remained  so  in  all  their  contests, 
both  with  the  French,  &nd  the  Colonies  during  the  revolu- 
tion. They  served  as  a  bulwark  against  incursions  from 
Canada.  Their  hatred  of  the  French  was  intense.  They 
said,  the  Canada  Indians  never  invaded  their  territory 
unaccompanied  by  a  "  skulking  "  Frenchman. 

England  and  Holland  were  soon  at  war  again;  and  sud- 
denly a  Dutch  squadron  anchored  in  the  bay,  and  demand- 
ed the  surrender  of  the  colony.  Thus  the  territory  became 
New  Netherland  once  more. 

In  a  little  more  than  a  year  peace  was  made,  and  the 
province  was  restored  to  England.  Thus  after  half  a  cen- 
tury, the  rule  of  the  Dutch  passed  away,  but  not  their 
influence — it  still  remains  to  bless.  The  struggles  of  their 
fathers  in  Holland  in  the  cause  of  civil  and  religious  free- 
dom, are  embalmed  in  the  history  of  the  progress  of  the 
human  mind.  In  their  principles  tolerant,  in  religion 
Protestant,  a  nation  of  merchants  and  manufacturers, 
laborious  and  frugal,  they  acquired  a  fame  as  wide  as  the 
world  for  the  noble  virtue  of  honesty.  Defenders  of  the 
right,  they  were  brave,  bold,  and  plain  spoken;  they  were 
peaceful;  they  were  justly  celebrated  for  their  moral  and 
domestic  virtues  :  nowhere  was  the  wife,  the  mother,  the  ^ 
sister  more  honored  and  cherished.  Such  were  the  ances- 
try and  such  the  traditions  of  the  people  just  come  under 
British  rule.  A  little  more  than  a  century  elapsed,  and 


' 


128  HISTOKY    OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

°xm '    their  descendants,  wjth  scarcely  an  exception,  took  their 


places  with  the  lovers  of  their  country  in  the  straggle  for 
independence.  •    , 

The  change  of  rulers  was  not  beneficial  to  the  people  ; 
the  promises  made  to  them  were  not  kept ;  their  taxes 
were  increased  ;  the  titles  to  their  lands  were  even  called 
in  question,  that  the  rapacious  governors  might  reap  a  har- 
vest of  fees  for  giving  new  ones.  It  was  openly  avowed  by 
the  unprincipled  Lovelace,  the  successor  of  Nicholls,  that 
the  true  way  to  govern  was  by  severity ;  to  impose  taxes  so 

1667.  heavy  that  the  people  should  have  "  liberty  for  no  thought 
but  how  to  discharge  them."  When  the  people  respect- 
fully petitioned  in  relation  to  their  grievances,  their  petition 
was  burned  by  the  hangman  before  the  town-hall  in  New 
York,  by  order  of  the  same  Lovelace.  The  same  species 
of  tyranny  was  exercised  over  the  colonists  on  the  Dela- 
ware. 

The  Duke  of  York  sold  to  Lord  Berkeley,  brother  of  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  governor  of  Virginia,  and  Sir  George 
Carteret,  the  soil  of  New  Jersey.  They  made  liberal  offers 
to  emigrants  to  settle  in  the  territory,  promising  to  collect 
no  rents  for  five  years.  Many  families  were  induced  to 
come  from  Long  Island.  Their  principal  settlement  was 

1670.  named,  in  honor  of  Carteret' s  wife,  Elizabethtown.  All 
went  smoothly  till  pay-day  came,  and  then  those  colonists 
who  had  lived  under  Dutch  rule  refused  to  pay.  They 
contended  that  they  had  bought  their  lands  from  the  In- 
dians, the  original  owners  of  the  soil,  and  that  Carteret  had 
no  claim  to  rent  because  the  king  had  given  him  a  grant 
of  land  which  did  not  belong  to  him.  Others  said  they 
derived  no  benefit  from  the  proprietary,  and  why  should 
they  pay  him  quit-rents  ? 

The  Duke  of  York  had  but  little  regard  to  the  rights 

1074.  of  Carte  ret  or  Berkeley;  lie  appointed  Andros,  "  the  tyrant 
of  New  England/'  governor  of  the  colony.  Berkeley,  dis- 


SCOTCH  PRESBYTERIANS  IN  EAST  JERSEY.          129 


gusted  by  such  treatment,  sold  what  was  called  West 
Jersey  to  Edward  Byllinge,  an  English  Quaker,  who  in  a  _  . 
short  time  transferred  his  claim  to  William  Penn  and  two    1674. 
others,  who  afterward  made  an  arrangement  with  Carteret  . 
to  divide  the  territory.     Penn  and  his  associates  taking 
West  Jersey,  and  Carteret  retaining  East  Jersey,  the  line 
of  division  being  drawn   from  the  ocean,  at  Little  Egg 
Harbor,  to  the  north-western  corner  of  the  province. 

Episcopacy  having  been  re-established  in  Scotland,  a 
certain  portion  of  the  Presbyterians,  the  Cameronians  or 
Covenanters,  refused  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  that 
church,  and  in  consequence  they  became  the  victims  of  a 
severe  persecution.  To  escape  this  they  were  induced  to 
emigrate  in  great  numbers  to  East  Jersey,  which  thus  1683. 
became  the  cradle  of  Presbyterianism  in  America.  The 
original  settlers  of  New  Jersey  were  the  Dutch,  English, 
Quakers,  Puritans,  from  New  England,  and  Presbyterians, 
from  Scotland,  which  may  account  for  that  sturdy  opposi- 
tion to  royal  or  ecclestiastical  tyranny  so  characteristic  of 
its  inhabitants. 


* 


tCHAPTEK   XIV. 
> 

COLONIZATION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  Quakers. — William  Penn. — His  Education. — Obtains  a  Charter. — Prepa- 
rations to  plant  a  Colony. — He  lands  at  Newcastle. — Philadelphia. — 
Rights  of  the  Indians. — Settlement  of  Germantown. — Fletcher,  the  Royal 
Governor. — New  Charter  granted  the  People. — Prosperity  of  the  Col- 
ony.— Trials  of  Penn :  his  Death.— Benjamin  Franklin. 

CHAP.   WE  have  in  the  course  of  this  history  met  with  the  sect 

1  known  as  Quakers, — a  sect,  perhaps,  more  than  any  other 

1650.  drawn  from  the  .humbler  classes  of  the  English  people. 
We  have  found  them  at  one  time  few  in  number,  despised 
and  persecuted;  treated  as  the  enemies  of  social  order  and 
morals.  They  were  persecuted  by  all  the  sects  in  turn. 
The  Puritans  of  New  England  endeavored  to  drive  them 
from  their  shores;  the  Churchmen  of  Virginia  refused  them 
a  resting  place ;  and  the  politic  and  trading  Dutch,  though 
desirous  for  colonists,  treated  them  harshly. 

The  Quakers  loved  and  cherished  the  truths  of  the 
Bible  with  as  much  zeal  as  the  most  devoted  Puritans.    As 
non-resistants,  they  believed  that  the  only  evil  a  Christian 
should  resist,  was  the  evil  of  his  own  heart :  as  followers  of 
the  Prince  of  Peace,  they  were  opposed  to  war.    How  much 
blood  and  sorrow  would  be  spared  the  nations,  if  in  this 
dfe    respect  they  were  governed  by  the  principles  of  Quakerism  ! 
We  have  now  to  speak  of  this  despised  sect  as  the  found- 
ers of  a  State,  where  their  principles  were  to  be  applied  to 
the  government  of  men. 


-         ••:^.- 

WILLIAM   PENN.  131 

George  Fox,  their  founder,  had  visited  the  American  CHAP, 

colonies  ;  the  condition  of  his  followers  touched  his  heart.  L. 

Was  there  no  asylum  for  them  in  the  New  World  ?  Who  1673. 
should  furnish  them  the  means  to  form  for  themselves  a  ' 
settlement  ? 

Among  the  few  who  joined  them  from  the  higher  classes 
of  English  society,  was  one  destined  to  exert  a  great  influ- 
ence on  the  sect,  and  to  be  admired  and  reverenced  as  a 
benefactor  of  his  race  by  the  good  of  every  age.  When  a  1661.  * 
mere  youth,  his  heart  was  touched  by  the  conversation  of  a 
simple-minded  Quaker,  who  spoke  of  the  peace  and  comfort 
derived  from  the  witnessing  of  God's  Spirit  with  his  own  : 
"  the  inner  light,7'  or  voice  of  conscience.  This  youth  was 
William  Penn,  the  son  of  Sir  William  Penn,  who  was  dis- 
tinguished as  a  successful  naval  commander  in  the  times 
of  Cromwell  and  Charles"  II.  The  position  of  his  father 
afforded  him  great  advantages.  He  studied  at  Oxford 
University,  was  then  sent  to  the  Continent  to  improve  his 
mind  by  travel  and  intercourse  with  men,  and  to  eradicate 
his  tendency  toward  Quakerism.  After  the  absence  of  two 
years  he  returned,  improved  it  is  true,  but  in  religion  still 
a  member  of  that  despised  sect  everywhere  spoken  against : 
a  sect,  which  its  enemies  affirmed,  would  destroy  every 
government.  The  ambitious  and  worldly-minded  Admiral 
was  angry  and  disappointed.  He  insisted  thafc  his  son 
should  renounce  Quakerism.  The  son  reflected — he  loved 
and  reverenced  his  father  ;  he  desired  to  obey  and  please 
him,  but  could  he  violate  his  conscience  ?  No;  he  calmly 
resigned  all  earthly  preferment,  and  became  an  exile  from 
his  father's  house.  A  mother's  love  secretly  relieved  his 
pressing  wants. 

Before   long  we  find   him  in  prison  for  his  religion. 
When  the  Bishop  of  London  threatened  him  with  im-  & 
prisonment  for  life  if  he  did  not  recant,  he  calmly  replied, 
"  Then  my  prison  shall  be  my  grave  ! "     When  a  clergy- 
man, the  learned  Stillingfleet,  was  sent  to  convince  him 


132  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   by  arguments,  he   referred  to  his  prison-walls,  and  re- 

t  **y>     marked,  "  The  Tower  is  to  me  the  worst  argument  in  the 

1663.    world  ;  those  who  use  force  for  religion  never  can  be  in  the 

right ! "     "  Keligion,"  said  he,  on  another  occasion,  "  is  my 

crime   and  my  innocence ;    it   makes  me   a  prisoner  to 

malice,  but  my  own  freeman."     At  the  expiration  of  a 

year  he  was   released,   through   the   intercession  of  his 

father. 

Promotion  in  the  navy,  royal  favor,  and  every  worldly 
inducement  was  now  urged  to  tempt  him  to  desert  his 
principles  ;  but  in  vain.  Within  a  year  he  was  arraigned 
again  for  having  spoken  at  a  Quaker  meeting.  As  he 
pleaded  his  own  cause,  he  told  the  court  "  that  no  power 
on  earth  had  the  right  to  debar  him  from  worshipping 
God."  The  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not  guilty.  The 
court,  determined  to  persecute,  ordered  them  back  to  their 
room  ;  saying,  "  We  will  have  a  verdict,  or  you  shall 
starve  for  it."  Penn  admonished  them  as  Englishmen  to 
remember  their  rights.  To  the  great  annoyance  of  his 
enemies,  the  jury,  though  they  "  received  no  refreshments 
for  two  days  and  two  nights,"  again  brought  in  a  verdict 
of  not  guilty.  The  court  fined  the  jury  it  could  not 
intimidate.  Though  thus  acquitted,  the  recorder,  under 
the  plea  of  contempt  of  court,  fined  Penn,  and  again  re- 
manded him  to  prison.  As  he  was  leaving  the  room,  he 
mildly  remarked  to  the  angry  magistrate  :  "  Thy  religion 
persecutes  and  mine  forgives."  His  father  soon  afterward 
paid  the  fine,  and  he  was  liberated.  Ere  long  that  father, 
when  dying,  became  reconciled  to  his  son,  and  called  him 
to  his  bedside.  Worldly  prosperity  and  honor  did  not 
seem  so  important  to  the  admiral  in  his  dying  hour  as 
they  had  done  in  other  days.  "  Son  William,"  said  he, 
\  "if  you  and  your  friends  keep  to  your  plain  way  of 
preaching  and  living,  you  will  make  an  end  to  the 
priests  ! " 

Weary  of  persecutions,  Penn  determined  to  seek  in 


PENNSYLVANIA  PURCHASED.  133 

^^T  *_ 

the  New  World  an  asylum  for  himself  and  his  suffering   CHAP. 

friends.     There  was,  perhaps,   no   man  in  the  kingdom  L 

better  fitted  to  take  the  lead  in  colonizing  a  State  :  fa-  1680. 
miliar,  from  books  as  well  as  from  observation,  with  the 
governments  of  Europe,  and  by  personal  intercourse  with 
some  of  the  most  enlightened  statesmen  of  the  age  ;  the 
friend  and  companion  of  men,  as  eminent  in  science  and 
philosophy  as  they  were  in  purity  of  morals. 

His  father  had  bequeathed  him  a  claim  of  sixteen 
thousand  pounds  against  the  government.     He  offered  to 
receive  lands  in  payment.    Charles  II.,  always  in  want  of 
money,  readily  granted  him  territory  west  of  the  Delaware    1681. 
river,  corresponding  very  nearly  with  the  present  limits  of      ^' 
the  State  of  PENNSYLVANIA, — a  name  given  it  by  the  king. 
The  Duke  of  York  claimed  the  region  now  known  as  the    1682. 
State  of  Delaware  ;  Penn  wishing  to  have  free  access  to 
the  bay  obtained  it  from  him. 

As  proprietary  he  now  drew  up  a  proclamation  for  those 
who  were  about  to  emigrate,  as  well  as  for  the  settlers  April, 
already  on  the  Delaware.  He  proposed  that  they  should 
make  their  own  laws,  and  pledged  himself  to  interfere  with 
nothing  that  should  be  for  their  benefit ;  saying,  "  I 
propose  to  leave  myself  and  successors  no  power  of  doing 
mischief ;  that  the  will  of  no  one  man  may  hinder  the  good 
of  a  whole  country." 

With  instructions  to  govern  in  accordance  with  law, 
he  sent  his  nephew,  William  Markham,  as  agent.    He  had 
expended  so  much  to  aid  his  suffering  brethren,  that  his 
estate  was  now  nearly  exhausted.     When  about  to  sail  for 
his  colony  he  wrote  to  his  wife  :  "  Live  low  and  sparingly 
till  my  debts  are  paid  ;  I  desire  not  riches,  but  to  owe 
nothing  ;  be  liberal  to  the  poor,  and  kind  to  all."    At  this* 
time  of  embarrassment  a  very  large  sum  was  offered  him  £ 
by  a  company  of  traders  for  the  exclusive  right  to  trade 
between  the  rivers  Susquehannah  and  Delaware.     He  re- 


* 

41 


134  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  fused  to  sell  such  right,  saying  each  one  in  his  colony 

f  should  have  an  equal  privilege  to  acquire  property. 

1682.  Penn*  accompanied  by  one  hundred  emigrant s,  landed 
°$'  at  New  Castle.     The  Swedes,  Dutch,  and  English  alike 

welcomed  him.  He  passed  up  the  river  to  where  the 
capital  of  his  province  was  yet  to  rise ;  there,  under  a 
spreading  elm,  he  met  a  large  number  of  sachems  of  the 
neighboring  tribes,  and  with  them  entered  into  a  treaty. 
No  record  of  this  treaty  has  been  preserved,  yet  it  re- 
mained for  fifty  years  in  force  ;  neither  party  violating  its 
provisions.  The  sons  of  the  forest  received  the  "  Quaker 
King"  as  a  friend,  and  they  never  had  cause  to  regret 
their  confidence.  He  promised  to  treat  them  justly ; 
a  promise  observed  not  only  by  himself  but  by  the  Quaker 
settlers.  During  this  year  twenty-three  ships  laden  with 
emigrants  arrived  safely  in  the  colony  ;  and  they  continued 
to  flock  thither  from  year  to  year. 

Lands,  lying  between  the  Schuylkill  and  the  Delaware, 
were  purchased  from  the  Swedes  :  a  place  desirable  for  a 
city,  from  its  situation,  healthy  air,  and  springs  of  fresh 
water.  It  was  to  be  a  "  greene  country  town,  gardens 
round  each  house,  that  it  might  never  be  burned,  and 
always  be  wholesome."  The  streets  were  marked  out  in 
the  primitive  forest  by  blazing  the  trees — the  walnut,  the 
spruce,  the  chestnut.  A  city  for  all  mankind,  it  was  sig- 

1683.  nificantly  named  PHILADELPHIA. 

The  new  city  grew  very  rapidly ;  in  three  years  it  con- 
tained more  than  six  hundred  houses,  while  the  colony 
had  a  population  of  nearly  ten  thousand.     Well  might 
the  benevolent  proprietary  look  forward  to  the  future  in 
cheerful  hope  ;  he  had  based  his  government  on  truth  and 
*  justice.     The  rights  of  the  Bed  Men  were  respected  ;  no 
4}  one  could  wrong  them  without  incurring  the  same  penalty 
as  that  for  wronging  a  fellow  planter.     If  difficulties  oc- 
curred between  them  and  the  settlers,  the  juries  to  try 
such  cases  were  to  be  composed  of  six  Indians  and  six 


,,".  « 

II 


FIRST    LEGISLATIVE   ASSEMBLY.  135 

Ik 

white  men.     In  the  earlier  days  of  the  colony  the  natives   CHAP. 

manifested  their  friendship  by  bringing  as  presents  the  '_ 

products  of  the  chase,  wild  fowl  and  venison.  1688. 

Presently  the  first  Assembly  in  Pennsylvania  was  con- 
vened. Penn  gave  to  the  people  a  "charter  of  liberties/' 
a  representative  government,  and  toleration  in  religious 
matters ;  to  prevent  lawsuits,  three  "  peace-makers" 
were  appointed  for  each  county.  Laws  were  made  to 
restrain  vice  and  to  promote  virtue.  Labor  upon  the  Sab-  1684. 
bath  was  forbidden.  The  confidence  which  the  Indians  had 
in  his  integrity  gave  security  to  their  friendship,  and  Penn- 
sylvania was  free  from  frontier  wars,  and  more  prosperous 
and  happy  than  any  other  colony.  Had  the  Red  Men  been 
treated  as  justly  by  the  other  colonists  as  by  the  Quakers, 
thousands  of  lives  would  have  been  spared  and  the  general 
prosperity  of  the  whole  country  promoted. 

The  interests  of  the  young  were  not  forgotten  ;  efforts    1692. 
were  made  for  their  education,  and  a  public  high-school 
chartered  by  Penn,  was  established  at  Philadelphia,  where 
already  a  printing-press,  the  third  in  the  colonies,  was 
doing  its  work. 

After  Penn  returned  to  England,  the  people  of  Dela- 
ware, or  the  three  lower  counties,  who  sympathized  but 
little  with  the  Quakers,  began  to  be  restless.  They  feigned  1691. 
grievances,  as  a  means  to  become  independent.  He  yielded 
to  their  request,  and  appointed  for  them  a  separate  deputy- 
governor. 

Being  the  personal  friend  of  the  Duke  of  York,  Penn 
urged  him  when  he  became  king,  to  relieve  the  oppressed; 
and  in  consequence  more  than  twelve  hundred  Quakers 
were  liberated,  who  had  been  imprisoned  many  years  for 
conscience7  sake.  His  benevolence  was  not  limited  to 
those  of  his  own  persuasion,  but  extended  to  all,  both  ^ 
Catholic  and  Protestant. 

When  the  great  revolution  drove  the  arbitrary  James 
into  exile,  and  placed  William  of  Orange  on  the  throne,    1688- 


» 

136  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


°xivP    Penn  was  accused  b^  his  enemies  of  favoring  the  interests 

-  of  the  exiled  monarch,  with  whom  he  corresponded.    This 

1692.    correspondence  afforded  no  evidence  of  the  truth  of  these 

calumnifes,  but  William  lent  them  too  ready  an  ear.     He 

was  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  Penn  could  be  the  friend  of 

James  in  exile,  without  wishing  him  to  return  to  England 

as  a  sovereign.    These  false  charges,  together  with  rumors 

of  dissensions  in  the  colony,  furnished  the  royal  government 

a  pretext  for  depriving  Penn  of  his  proprietary  rights. 

The  Quakers  became  divided  in  their  sentiments;  a  few 
went  to  the  extreme  of  non-resistance,  saying,  that  it  was 
inconsistent  for  a  Quaker  to  engage  in  public  affairs,  either 
as  a  magistrate  or  as  a  legislator.  The  prime  leader  in 
this  was  George  Keith.  After  disturbing  the  province  be- 
yond even  Quaker  endurance,  he  was  indicted  by  the  grand 
jury,  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace  and  violator  of  the  laws. 
He  was  tried,  and  fined,  for  using  improper  language  ;  but 
lest  it  might  be  thought  a  punishment  for  the  free  expres- 
sion of  opinion,  the  fine  was  remitted.  The  cry  of  perse- 
cution was  raised  ;  but  time  proved  the  falsehood  of  the 
charge. 

The  first  German  emigrants  to  Pennsylvania  were 
Quakers  in  their  religious  views  —  converts  of  Penn  and 
Barclay,  who  some  years  before  had  travelled  on  the  conti- 
nent as  missionaries.  These  settled  Germantown  and  the 
vicinity.  Twenty  years  later,  the  ravages  of  war  drove 
1690.  many  Germans  from  their  homes  on  the  banks  of  the  Ehine. 
These  emigrated  in  great  numbers  first  to  England,  and 
then  to  Pennsylvania.  In  religious  views  they  were  Ger- 
man Keformed  and  Lutherans.  They  chose  fertile  dis- 
tricts, settled  together,  and  soon  became  celebrated  as  the 
best  farmers  in  America.  Their  numbers  gradually  increas- 
^  ed  by  accessions  of  emigrants  from  home.  They  did  not 
assimilate  with  the  English  colonists  :  preserved  inviolate 
their  customs,  their  religion,  and  their  language,  which 
alone  they  permitted  to  be  taught  their  children.  The 


OPPOSITION   TO    ROYAL    AUTHORITY.  137 

isolation  of  a  population  so  large,  had  an  important  influ-   CHAP. 

ence  upon  the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  on  their  system  of  L 

education  by  common  schools,  on  the  struggle  for  independ-    1692. 
ence,  and  since  politically.  , 

An  attempt  was  now  made  to  convert  Pennsylvania 
and  Delaware  into  one  royal  province,  over  which  Benja- 
min Fletcher  was  appointed  governor.  Some  of  the  magis- 
trates refused  to  recognize  his  authority,  and  some  resigned 
their  offices.  When  the  Assembly  met,  the  opposition 
became  more  determined.  The  members  of  this  body 
deemed  the  laws  made  under  the  charter  received  from 
Penn  as  valid;  neither  would  they  legislate  under  any  other 
authority.  The  charter  given  by  King  Charles,  said  they, 
is  as  valid  as  one  given  by  King  William  ;  and  they  re- 
fused to  throw  a  suspicion  over  their  existing  laws  by 
re-enacting  them.  They  never  noticed  the  governor ;  with 
Quaker  coolness  passed  and  repassed  his  door,  and  in  every 
respect  ignored  his  presence. 

Meanwhile,  Penn  had  been  persecuted  and  annoyed ; 
he  was  arraigned  three  times  on  frivolous  charges,  which 
were  as  often  not  sustained.  He  prepared  once  more  to  1590. 
visit  his  colony.  Crowds  of  emigrants  were  ready  to  go 
with  him,  when  he  was  arrested  again.  Forced  to  go  into 
retirement,  he  determined  to  wait  till  time  should  bring 
him  justice.  This  delay  ruined  the  remainder  of  his  for- 
tune ;  death  entered  his  family,  and  robbed  him  of  his 
wife  and  eldest  son.  Treated  harshly  by  the  world,  and  in 
some  instances  by  those  whom  he  thought  his  friends,  he 
mildly  persevered;  never  changed  his  views  of  right  and 
justice  ;  conscious  of  the  purity  of  his  motives,  he  serenely 
waited  for  the  time  when  his  character  should  be  vindi- 
cated from  the  aspersions  cast  upon  it.  Ere  long  that  time 
came,  the  charges  laid  against  him  were  proved  to  be  false, 
and  he  was  restored  to  his  proprietary  rights.  1694. 

The  want  of  means  delayed  his  visit  to  his  colony,  but 
he  sent  Markham  as  his  deputy.  He  called  an  Assembly; 


« 

138  HISTOKY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   the  people,  alarmed  at   the   recent  encroachments  upon 

1_  their  chartered   rights,  framed  for  themselves   a  liberal 

1694.  constitution.  The  Assembly  would  levy  no  tax  until 
this  was  granted.  When  Penn  arrived,  he  recognized  as 
valid  what  the  people  had  done.  When  the  proposition 
1YOO.  was  made  to  form  a  "  constitution  which  would  be  firm 
and  lasting,"  he  said  to  them,  "  Keep  what  is  good  in  the 
charter  and  frame  of  government,  and  add  what  may  best 
suit  the  common  good."  It  was  agreed  to  surrender  the 
old  charter,  and  in  its  place  frame  a  new  constitution. 
1702.  The  territories  wished  to  be  separate,  and  Delaware 
was  permitted  to  have  her  own  legislature  ;  though  the 
governor  was  to  be  the  same  as  that  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  two  governments  were  never  again  united.  All  the 
political  privileges  the  people  desired  he  cheerfully 
granted ;  they  enjoyed  religious  liberty,  and  annually 
elected  their  own  magistrates. 

A  large  emigration  began  about  this  period,  and  con- 
tinued for  half  a  century,  to  pour  into  Pennsylvania  from 
the  north  of  Ireland  and  from  Scotland.  These  were 
principally  Presbyterians.  They  settled  in  the  eastern 
_-At  and  middle  parts  of  the  colony,  and  thence  gradually  ex- 
tended their  settlements  west,  making  inroads  upon  the 
forest. 

When  Penn  returned  to  *the  colony  it  was  his  inten- 
tion to  remain,  and  make  it  the  home  of  his  children. 
Kumors,  however,  reached  the  province  that  the  charters 
of  all  the  colonies  were  to  be  taken  away,  and  they 
thrown  upon  the  tender  mercies  of  court  favorites.  He 
had  not  only  purchased  his  territory  from  Charles,  but  he 
had  bought  the  land  from  the  Indians  themselves  ;  he 
was  therefore  the  sole  owner  of  the  unoccupied  soil  of 
Pennsylvania.  These  rumors  rendered  it  necessary  for 
him  to  return  to  England.  Having  arranged  the  govern- 
ment so  as  best  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  people,  he 
bade  farewell  to  the  colony,  for  which  he  had  spent  the 


f 

BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN.  139 

better  part  of  his  life,  and  for  which  he  hreathed  his  part-   CHAP. 
-,  •.     .                                                                                xiv. 
mg  blessing.  

The  virtues  of  William  Penn  saved  the   colony,  so    1700. 
dear  to  his   heart,  from   becoming  a  province    ruled  by 
royal  governors  and  impoverished  by  tax-gatherers.     His 
enemies  never  could  persuade  the  court  to  deprive  him 
of  his  property.     Though  in  his  old  age  so  poor,  on  ac- 
count of  the  sacrifices  he  had  made,  as  to  be  compelled  to 
go  for  a  season  to  a  debtor's  prison,  he  refused  to  sell  his 
estates  in  America  unless  he  could  secure  for  the  people 
the  full  enjoyment  of  their  liberties.     His  death  was  as 
peaceful  as  his  life  had  been  benevolent.     He  left  three    1718. 
sons,  who  were  minors.     For  them  the  government  was 
administered  by  deputies  until  the  Kevolution,  when  the    1776. 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  purchased  their  claims  for 
more  than  half  a  million  of  dollars. 

Six  years  after  the  death  of  Penn,  there  came  to 
Philadelphia  a  youth  of  seventeen,  who  was  yet  to  exert 
a  great  influence,  not  merely  upon  that  colony  but  upon 
the  others,  while  his  fame  was  to  be  as  great  in  the  world 
of  science.  This  youth  was  Benjamin  Franklin,  a 
native  of  Boston,  the  son  of  a  tallow-chandler  ;  at  which 
business,  till  ten  years  of  age,  he  labored.  But  his  ardent 
mind  craved  something  far  beyond.  During  his  leisure 
time,  and  till  late  at  night,  he  read  and  appreciated 
all  the  books  he  could  borrow,  and  his  limited  means 
could  purchase. 

At  twelve  he  was  bound  to  his  eldest  brother,  a  print- 
er, to  learn  the  art.  There  he  experienced,  not  the 
kindness  of  a  brother  but  the*  harshness  of  a  tyrant. 
Worn  out  with  this  oppression,  the  determined  youth  .* 
sold  his  little  library  to  furnish  means  to  travel,  and, 
without  giving  notice  to  his  friends,  left  to  seek  his  for- 
tune in  the  wide  world.  He  travelled  first  to  New 
York,  where  he  tarried  but  a  day,  and  then  passed  on  to 
Philadelphia.  There  he  arrived  a  stranger — his  money 


140  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

°xiv>'   re(*uce(*  *°  a  single  dollar ;  a  penny  roll  served  Mm  for 

1  his  first  dinner.     In  one  of  the  two  printing-offices  of  the 

1724.  city  he  sought  and  obtained  employment.  Afterward  he 
went  to  London,  where  he  spent  a  year  and  a  half  in  the 
same  business  ;  then  returned,  but  every  thing  that  could 
be  of  avail  to  him  he  had  carefully  marked  and  treasured 
up.  In  truth  he  never  lost  a  moment ;  nothing  escaped 
his  notice,  whether  in  the  natural  or  political  world.  His 
wonderful  combination  of  diligence,  keen  observation,  and 
practical  wisdom,  fitted  him  to  trace  the  current  of 
human  affairs,  as  well  as  deduce  laws  from  the  phenomena 
of  nature. 

His  experiments  in  electricity,  the  discovery  of  its 
identity  with  lightning,  and  the  invention  of  the  light- 
ning-rod, made  his  name  famous  in  the  universities  and 
courts  of  the  Old  World  ;  while  his  "  Poor  Kichard's 
Almanac,"  with  its  aphorisms  of  worldly  wisdom,  pene- 
trated every  nook  and  corner  of  his  native  land,  and  by 
its  silent  influence  did  much  to  inculcate  the  virtues  of 
industry  and  economy. 

"  The  first  native  of  America,  who  wrote  the  Eng- 
lish language  with  classic  taste  and  elegance,"  his  influ- 
ence was  impressed  upon  the  literature  of  the  land.  He 
established  the  first  American  periodical  magazine,  con- 
ducted a  newspaper,  and  wrote  popular  pamphlets  on 
topics  of  public  interest. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

COLONIZATION  OF  THE  CAROLINAS. 

The  first  Settlers.— Grants  to  Royal  Favorites.— The  "  Grand  Model."— Set- 
tlement at  Cape  Fear  River.— Sir  John  Yeamans. — Emigrants  under 
Sayle. — The  Huguenots. — The  People  Independent. — Rice. — Church- 
men and  Dissenters. — Manufactures  prohibited. — War  between  Eng- 
land and  Spain. — Failure  to  Capture  St.  Augustine. — The  ruin  of  the 
Appalachees. — Indian  Wars. — German  Emigrants. — The  People  repu- 
diate the  Authority  of  the  Proprietaries. 

WE  have  now  to  speak  of  the  permanent  settlement  of    CHAP. 

the   land,  which   the  chivalric  Sir  Walter   Kaleigh   en- 

deavored  to  colonize  ;  and  to  which  the  noble  Coligny  1022, 
sent  his  countrymen  to  found  a  Protestant  State,  and 
where  they  perished  by  the  hand  of  Spanish  violence. 
That  vast  region,  extending  from  the  southern  border  of 
Virginia  to  the  northern  border  of  Florida,  was  repre- 
sented as  a  "  delightsome  land "  by  the  adventurers  who 
had  explored  it.  Thither,  during  the  space  of  forty  years, 
emigrants  had :  gone  from  Virginia.  These  were  Dis- 
senters, a  term  which  now  began  to  be  applied  to  all 
Protestants  not  attached  to  the  Church  of  England. 


This  Church,  established   by  law  in  Virginia,  exercised 


great  illiberality  toward  those  who  would  not  conform  to 
its  ceremonies  ;  and  many  Dissenters,  greatly  annoyed  by 
the  collectors  of  tythes,  emigrated  further  south.  Among 
them  was  a  company  of  Presbyterians  who  settlecLon  the  1553. 
Chowan.  Berkeley,  governor  of  Virginia,  assumed  juris- 
diction over  them  by  appointing  one  of  their  number, 


142  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.    William  Drummond,  governor.    Drammond  was  a  Scotch- 

L  man  by  birth,  a  devoted  advocate  of  popular  liberty,  the 

1653.    same  who   afterward,  as   has  been  related,  returned  to 
Virginia,  and  was  put  to  death  by  Berkeley  for  the  part 
he  took  in  Bacon's  attempt  to  vindicate  the  rights  of  the 
1676.    people. 

Charles  II.,  who  gave  away  vast  regions  with  as  much 
coolness  as  if  they  really  belonged  to  him,  granted  to 
eight  of  his  favorites  a  charter  and  certain  privileges,  to 
1663.  repay  them  for  their  loyalty  in  restoring  him  to  the  throne 
of  his  father.  This  grant  was  of  the  territory  extending 
from  the  present  southern  line  of  Virginia  to  the  St. 
Johns,  in  Florida,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 
Many  of  these  proprietaries  were  men  of  influence  in  their 
day.  Among  these  were  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  who  was 
prime  minister ;  Sir  Ashley  Cooper,  better  known  as  the 
Earl  of  Shaftesbury  ;  General  Monk,  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
who  took  an  active  part  in  the  restoration  of  Charles  ;  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  whom  we  have  met  in  Virginia  his- 
tory ;  and  Sir  George  Carteret,  a  proprietary  of  New 
Jersey.  They  professed  to  have  "a  pious  zeal  for  the 
spread  of  the  gospel,"  but  their  conduct  has  led  the  world 
to  believe  that  they  desired  more  to  enrich  themselves  by 
means  of  a  vast  land  speculation. 

f«  The  labor  of  framing  a  government  for  their  empire  in 
the  New  World  they  intrusted  to  Shaftesbury,  and  the 
celebrated  philosopher,  John  Locke.  Their"  joint  produc- 
tion by  pre-eminence  was  named  the  "  Grand  Model"  or 
"  Fundamental  Constitutions."  In  it  the  'right  to  rule 
was  assumed  to  belong  only  to  those  of  noble  blood  ;  and 
therefore  its  principles  were  pronounced  immortal.  It 
made  provision  for  Earls,  Barons,  and  Squires,  in  whose 
hands,  under  various  forms,  should  be  the  entire  adndnis- 
tration^of  affairs  ;  while  the  people  were  to  be  attached  to 
the  soil  as  tenants.  Those  who  owned  fifty  acres  of  land 
had  the  privilege  of  voting,  and  were  termed  freemen  ;  but 


•  ff     '?*• 

* 

:*< 

143 

those  who  were  tenants  had  no   such  privilege,  neither   CHAP. 

could  they  ever  rise  above  that  station.     To  the  freemen  '__ 

an  Assembly  was  granted,  but  on  such  conditions,  that  its  1663. 
acts  were  under  the  control  of  the  aristocracy?  Every  re- 
ligion was  professedly  tolerated,  but  care  was  taken  to 
declare  that  the  Church  of  England  alone  was  orthodox. 
Such  was  the  frame  of  government  prepared  for  jbhe  people 
of  the  Carolinas  by  the  united  wisdom  of  two  philosophers. 
Had  it  been  designed  for  a  people  living  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  it  might,  at  least,  have  had  a  trial ;  an  honor  to 
which  the  "  Grand  Model"  never  attained.  It  was 
as  easy  to  convert  log-cabins  into  castles,  as  to  make 
the  people  perpetual  tenants  ;  they  might  be  made 
nobles,  but  never  dependents.  Great  numbers  of  them  had 
left  Virginia  expressly  to  escape  restraint  and  oppression  ; 
and  they  had  very  little  respect  for  the  authority  of  the 
proprietaries,  while  they  certainly  did  not  fear  and  honor 
the  king. 

The  contest  soon  began.  The  proprietaries  claimed 
the  territory  because  the  king  had  given  them  a  charter, 
and  they  demanded  quit-rents  ;  the  settlers,  already  in 
possession,  claimed  their  lands  because  they  had  pur- 
chased them  from  the  Indians.  Why  should  they  pay 
quit-rents  ? 

A  few  years  before,  a  small  company  from  New  Eng-    1661. 
land  had  formed  a  settlement  on  Cape  Fear  river.     Every 
inducement  was  held  out  to  retain  these  settlers,  and  to 
encourage  others  to  join  them.    To  each  one  was  offered  one 
hundred  acres  of  land,  at  a  quit-rent  of  half  a  penny  an 
acre  ;   but  the  barrenness  of  the  soil  neutralized  every 
effort.     Many  of  these  colonists  returned  home,  and  the    jjjfc 
distress  of  the  remainder  was  so  great,  that  contributions 
in  their  behalf  were  taken  up  in  New  England. 

Three  years  later  quite  an  accession  was  made  to  this    1664. 
settlement  by  a  company  of  planters  from  the  Barbadoes. 
Sir  John  Yeamans,  their  leader,  was  appointed  governor. 


*  - 

M 

.'•; ; 

:    "ft   "  '•«.'•• 

ft 

144  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP.   He  was  instructed,  in  order  to  induce  others  to  come,  to 

L  be    "very   tender"  toward   the  New   Englanders.     The 

1664.  people  did  the  best  they  could  with  their  pine  barrens,  by 
making  staves  and  shingles  ;  these  they  sent  to  the  West 
Indies  :  a  trade  carried  on  to  this  day  from  that  region. 
It  was  enacted  that  debts  contracted  out  of  the  colony 
could  no^be  collected  from  the  emigrant  by  process  of 
law  until  he  had  been  a  resident  five  years.  It  thus  be- 
came a  partial  asylum  for  debtors. 

1670.  A  company  of  emigrants,  under  the  direction  of  Wil- 
liam Sayle,  was  also  sent  by  the  proprietaries  ;  and  to 
superintend  their  own  interests  they  appointed  Joseph 
West  commercial  agent.  They  landed  first  at  Port 
Koyal,  where  the  remains  of  the  fort  built  by  the  Hugue- 
nots, one  hundred  years  before,  were  still  visible.  It  had 
been  called  Carolina,  in  honor  of  the  reigning  French 
king  ;  the  name  was  now  retained  in  honor  of  Charles  of 
England.  One  of  the  proprietaries,  Carteret,  gave  his 
name  to  the  colony.  For  some  reason  they,  before  long, 
removed  to  another  situation  further  north,  where  they 
formed  a  settlement  between  two  rivers,  which,  in  honor 
of  Shaftesbury,  were  named  the  Ashley  and  the  Cooper. 
A  location  near  the  harbor,  and  better  suited  for  commer- 
£ ial  purposes,  was  afterward  noticed.  In  process  of  time 
a  village  grew  up  on  this  spot ;  it  is  now  known  as  the  city 
of  CHARLESTON. 

The  colony  continued  to  increase  from  emigration. 
Dissenters  came,  hoping  to  enjoy  the  religious  rights 
denied  them  at  home  ;  Dutch  and  Germans  from  Europe ; 
Presbyterians  from  the  North  of  Ireland  as  well  as  from 
Scotland — the  latter  furnishing  great  numbers  of  "  phy- 
sicians, clergymen,  lawyers,  and  schoolmasters;  "—Church- 
men from  England,  who  expected  their  church  to  be 
established  in  *  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
"  Grand  Model ; "  emigrants  from  New  York,  because  of 
the  high-handed  measures  of  the  English  governors; 

/ 

•t  • 


I 

I 


* 

THE    HUGUENOTS.  145 

'  ^F 

and  Huguenots,  under  the  patronage  of  Charles  II.     He  CHAP. 

wished  to  introduce  the  culture  of  the  vine  and  olive,  the  

raising  of  silk-worms,  and  ultimately  the  manufacture  of    1670. 
silk.     Great  numbers  of  the  Huguenots,  from  Languedoc, 
in  the  South  of  France,  came  to  the  Carolinas,  attracted 
by  the  genial  climate. 

A  law  granting  toleration  to  the  Protestantjyjf  France 
was  made  by  Henry  IY. :  this  was  the  famouisEdict  of  1598. 
Nantes,  thus  named  from  the  city  where  it  was  given. 
This  law  remained  in  force  almost  ninety  years,  when  it 
was  revoked  by  Louis  XI Y.  He  had,  as  long  as  he  1685. 
could  enjoy  it,  spent  his  life  in  vice  and  the  grossest  de- 
bauchery ;  now  he  thought  to  silence  the  clamors  of  con- 
science, that  terrible  enemy  of  wicked  men,  and  yet  win 
heaven  by  converting  to  the  Komish  church  his  Protestant 
subjects.  Encouraged  in  this  by  the  priests  and  the 
wiles  of  an  apostate  woman,  he  let  loose  upon  these  indus- 
trious and  well-disposed  people  the^  terrors  of  persecution. 
Why  go  into  the  detail  of  their  wrongs  ? — the  heart 
sickens  at  the  remembrance.  By  a  refinement  of  cruelty, 
they  were  forbidden  to  flee  from  their  native  land,  and 
every  avenue  of  escape  was  guarded  by  their  inveterate 
enemies.  Yet,  after  encountering  unheard-of  dangers  and 
trials,  many  of  them  did  escape,  and  more  than  five  hun- 
dred thousand  fled  to  different  parts  of  the  world.  In  the 
New  World  they  were  everywhere  welcomed  by  sympa- 
thizing friends. 

The  Huguenots  were  so  far  superior  to  the  Catholic 
portion  of  the  French,  nation,  in  intelligence  and  the 
knowledge  of  the  mechanic  arts,  that  nearly  all  the  manu- 
factures of  the  country  were  in  their  hands.  This  skill  jA 
they  carried  with  them,  and  they  thus  became  desirable 
citizens  wherever  they  chose  to'  settle.  In  South  Carolina 
their  influence  was  specially  felt.  Their^quiet  and  inof- 
fensive manners  won  for  them  respect ;  their  integrity  and 
industry  gave  them  influence.  Ere  long  they  mingled 

10 
- 
I 


* 

146 


CHAP. 
XV. 


1670. 


1671. 


HISTOKY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

with  the  inhabitants ;  and  their  descendants,  almost  uni- 
,  versally,  when  the  hour  of  trial  came,  were  found  on  the 
side  of  justice  and  liberty. 

The  original  inhabitants  of  the  Carolinas  were  peculiar 
in  their  character.  Numbers  of  them  went  thither  from 
the  other  colonies  to  avoid  restraint ;  they  refused  to  pay 
taxes  to  the  proprietaries  or  to  the  king,  or  duties  on 
trade  ;  they  were  friendly  to  the  buccaneers  or  pirates,  who 
infested  the  Southern  waters  ;  they  warred  against  the  In- 
dians, to  obtain  captives  to  be  sent  to  the  "West  Indies  and 
sold  as  slaves.  There  were  no  towns  in  the  colony ;  the 
planters  were  scattered  along  the  streams  and  valleys. 
There  were  no  roads  ;  they  travelled  along  paths  through 
the  woods,  known  only  by  the  blazed  trees,  or  on  the 
rivers  by  means  of  row-boats.  The  proprietaries  soon  saw 
the  impossibility  of  inducing  a  people  so  free  and  fearless 
to  conform  to  a  government  under  the  "  Grand  Model." 

Sir  John  Yeamansrwho  had  been  appointed  governor, 
brought  with  him,  on  his  return  from  Barbadoes,  fifty 
families,  and  yearly  two  hundred  slaves.  This  was  the 
commencement  of  negro  slavery  in  South  Carolina.  The 
slaves  increased  very  rapidly,  and  in  a  few  years  so  many 
had  been  introduced  that  in  number  they  were  nearly  two 
to  one  of  the  whites. 

Yeamans,  "a  sordid  calculator,"  had  been  impover- 
ished in  England,  and  went  abroad  to  improve  his  fortune. 
He  took  special  pains  to  guard  his  own  interests  ;  for  this 
reason  he  was  dismissed  by  the  proprietaries.  Under  his 
successor,  the  wise  and  liberal  West,  the  colony  flourished 
for  some  years.  He,  too,  was  dismissed,  not  because  he 
favored  himself  but  because  he  favored  the  people. 

The  next  struggle  came,  when  an  attempt  was  made 
to  levy  duties  on  the  little  trade  of  the  colony.  The  people 
considered  themselves  independent  of  the  proprietaries  as 
well  as  of  the  king,  and  under  no  obligation  to  pay  taxes 
in  any  form.  That  there  was  much  dissatisfaction  in  the 


DISPUTES   AND    PARTIES.  147 

colony,    may    be    inferred  from   the    fact    that    in    the   CHAP. 

space  of  six  years  it  had  five  governors.     To  allay  these  __ 

troubles  James  Colleton,  a  brother  of  one  of  the  pro-  1671. 
prietaries,  was  sent  as  governor.  But  when  he  attempted 
to  collect  rents  and  taxes  he  met  with  as  little  success  as 
any  of  his  predecessors  :  the  people  seized  the  records  of 
the  province,  imprisoned  his  secretary,  and  boldly  defied 
him  and  his  authority. 

Though  many  of  the  settlers  left  Virginia  on  account 
of  the  want  of  religious  privileges,  they  found  but  very  few 
ministers  of  the  gospel  in  the  country.  Quaker  preachers 
were  the  first  to  visit  the  Carolinas ;  afterward  George 
Fox  himself  carried  them  the  truth  as  he  believed  it.  The 
people  warmly  welcomed  the  messenger  of  the  gospel. 
The  influence  of  this  visit  was  to  strengthen  the  hearts  of 
his  followers,  and  to  make  many  converts.  The  Quakers, 
everywhere  the  friends  of  popular  rights,  exerted  much  in- 
fluence against  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  proprietaries. 

There  arose  a  party  of  "  Cavaliers  and  ill-livers," 
whose  morals  were  fashioned  after  those  of  the  court  of  the 
profligate  Charles.  Opposition  was  excited  by  their  high- 
handed measures,  and  another  party  sprang  into  existence; 
it  was  composed  of  the  Presbyterians,  Quakers,  and  the 
Huguenots,  who  had  recently  been  admitted  to  the  rights 
of  citizenship.  The  disputes  were  chiefly  in  relation  to 
rents  and  land  tenures. 

In  the  midst  of  this  confusion,  an  upright  Quaker, 
John  Archdale,  was  elected  governor.  He  assumed  the  1694. 
part  of  mediator,  and  attempted,  with  some  success,  to 
reconcile  the  disputants.  In  selecting  his  council  he  chose 
men  of  all  parties,  and  by  various  judicious  regulations 
partially  allayed  the  strife.  By  just  treatment  he  made 
friends  of  the  Indians  ;  he  ransomed  and  sent  home  some 
of  their  Indian  converts,  who  were  held  by  a  neighboring 
tribe  as  slaves,  and  thus  conciliated  the  Spaniards  at  St. 
Augustine.  The  kind  act  was  reciprocated  ;  the  Spaniards 


1 


* 

» 

148  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  restored  to  their  friends  some  English  sailors  shipwrecked 

L  on  their  coast. 

1694.  The  Dissenters  numbered  two-thirds  of  the  population, 
yet,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  they  consented  that  one  minister 
of  the  Church  of  England  should  be  maintained  at  the 
public  expense.  Upon  one  occasion  the  Churchmen  and 
aristocracy  accidentally  had  a  majority  of  one  in  the 
Assembly ;  they  manifested  their  gratitude  for  the  con- 
cession just  mentioned,  by  depriving  the  Dissenters  of  all 
their  political  privileges  ;  they  made  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land the  established  church,  to  be  maintained  at  the  pub- 
lic expense,  and  proceeded  to  divide  the  colony  into 
parishes,  to  which  the  "  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 

1704.  the  Gospel"  was  to  appoint  pastors.  The  aggrieved 
people  appealed  to  the  House  of  Lords  for  redress  ;  and 
the  intolerant  act  of  the  Legislature  was  declared  to  be 
null  and  void.  The  law  disfranchising  Dissenters  was  re- 
pealed, that  granting  a  support  to  the  Church  of  England 
remained  in  force  till  the  Kevolution. 

Notwithstanding  these  difficulties  the  colony  pros- 
pered, and  increased  in  numbers  from  emigration.  Among 
these  a  company  from  Massachusetts  formed  a  settlement 

1698.  twenty  miles  back  of  Charleston.  During  Archdale's  ad- 
ministration, the  captain  of  a  ship  from  Madagascar  gave 
him  some  rice,  which  he  distributed  among  the  planters 
to  be  sown.  The  experiment  was  successful,  and  soon 
Carolina  rice  was  celebrated  as  the  best  in  the  world. 
The  fur  trade  with  the  Indians  was  also  profitable,  while 
the  forests  produced  their  share  of  profit  in  lumber  and 
tar. 

The  colonists  attempted  to  manufacture  domestic 
cloths  to  supply  their  own  wants  ;  an  enterprise  they  were 
soon  compelled  to  abandon.  The  manufacturers  and  mer- 
chants of  England  complained,  as  they  themselves  wished 
to  enjoy  the  profits  that  would  arise  from  supplying  them. 
Parliament  passed  an  act  forbidding  woollen  goods  to  be 


AGAINSl 


EXPEDITION   AGAINST    ST.    AUGUSTINE.  149 

transported  from  one  colony  to  another,  or  to  any  foreign   C|*AP- 

port.     This  unrighteous  law,  as  was  designed,  broke  up  L_ 

nearly  all  colonial  trade  and  manufactures,  and  gave  the    1699. 
English  trader  and  manufacturer  the  monopoly  of  both. 
We  shall  see  how  this  policy  affected  all  the  colonists.    In 
the  Carolinas,  they  could  only  engage  in  planting,  and  a 
new  impulse  was  given  to  the  slave  trade. 

War  had  arisen  between  England  and  Spain,  and  their 
children  in  the  New  World  unfortunately  took  up  arms 
against  each  other.  James  Moore,  who  was  now  governor 
of  Carolina,  undertook  an  expedition  against  St.  Augus- 
tine. He  is  represented  as  a  "  needy,  forward,  ambitious 
man,"  who  was  in  the  habit  of  kidnapping  Indians  and 
selling  them  as  slaves  :  now  he  hoped  to  plunder  the 
Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine.  He  pressed  some  vessels  into  1702. 
his  service,  and  set  sail  with  a  portion  of  the  troops,  and 
sent  others  with  the  Indian  allies  by  land.  The  town  was 
easily  taken,  but  the  soldiers  retired  to  a  well  fortified  fort, 
and  defied  the  besiegers.  Moore  must  send  to  the  island 
of  Jamaica  for  cannon,  to  enable  him  to  take  the  fort. 
Meanwhile  an  Indian  runner  had  sped  through  the  forest 
to  Mobile,  and  informed  the  French  settlers  there  of  what 
was  going  on.  They  sent  word  to  Havana.  We  may  judge 
the  surprise  of  Moore,  when  he  saw  two  Spanish  men-of- 
war  come  to  rescue  St.  Augustine,  instead  of  the  vessel  he 
expected  from  Jamaica.  He  immediately  abandoned  his 
supplies  and  stores,  and  made  his  way  by  land  as  best  he 
could,  to  Charleston.  The  colony,  by  this  unwise  and 
wicked  expedition,  only  gained  a  debt  which  pressed  heavily 
upon  the  people  for  years. 

The  Appalachees  of  Florida,  under  the  influence  of  $ 
Spanish  priests,  had  become  converts  to  Komanism  ;  they 
built  churches,  and  began  to  cultivate  the  soil  and  live  in 
villages.  As  free  intercourse  existed  between  Florida  and 
Louisiana;  the  English  colonists  professed  alarm  at  the 
influence  the  French  and  Spaniards  might  have  over  the 


. 
* 

150  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.    Indians  of  that  region.     This  furnished  an  excuse  for  the 
_  ambitious  Moore  to  lead  an  expedition  against  these  inoffen- 

1705.  sive  Indians,  whose  only  crime  was,  that  they  were  willing 
to  be  taught  religion  and  agriculture  by  Spanish  priests. 
With  about  fifty  whites  and  one  thousand  friendly  Indians, 
he  went  through  the  wilderness,  away  across  the  State  of 
Georgia,  down  on  the  Gulf  to  Appalachee  Bay.     The  first 
intimation  the  Indians  had  of  this  freebooting  expedition 
was  an  attack  upon  their  village,  one  morning  at  daylight. 
The  assailants  met  with  so  warm  a  reception,  that  at  first 
they  were  forced  to  retire,  but  not  until  they  had  set  fire 
to  a  church.     There  happened  to  be  in  the  bay  a  Spanish 
ship,  whose  commander  the  next  day,  with  a  few  white 
men  and  four  hundred  Indians,  made  an  attack  on  the 
invaders,  but  he  was  defeated.     The  Indian  villages  were 
now  destroyed,  the  churches  plundered  of  their  plate,  and 
numbers  of  Indians  taken  captive,  and  removed  to  the  banks 
of  the  Altamaha,  while  their  own  country  was  given  to  the 
Seminoles,  the  allies  of  the  invaders.     Thus  the  English 
placed  Indians  friendly  to  themselves  between  the  Spanish 
and  French  settlements,  while  in  virtue  of  this  expedition 
they  claimed  the  soil  of  Georgia.    More  than  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  years  afterward,  the  descendants  of  these 
Seminoles  were  removed   beyond  the  Mississippi.     Even 
then  the  ruins  of  churches  marked  the  stations  of  the  Span- 
ish missions  among  the  Appalachees. 

The  next  year  brought  Charleston  two  unexpected 
enemies  —  a  malignant  fever,  and  while  it  was  raging,  a 
squadron  of  Spanish  and  French  ships  to  avenge  the  attack 

1706.  upon  the  Appalachees.     The  people,  tinder  William  Khet 
and  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson,  were  soon  ready  to  meet  them. 
When  they  landed,  they  were  opposed  at  every  point,  and 
driven  back.     A  French  ship  was  captured  ;  and  of  the 
eight  hundred  men  who  landed,  more  than  three  hundred 
were  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners.     This  victory  was 
looked  upon  as  a  great  triumph. 


• 

* 


RELIGIOUS   CONTROVERSIES.  151 

In  this  conflict  the  Huguenots  performed  well  their  CHAP. 

part.     An  unusual  number  of  them  had  settled  in  Charles- 

ton  ;  here  they  founded  a  church,  its  forms  of  worship  the    1693. 
same  as  those  to  which  they  were  accustomed  at  home. 
This  church  still  remains,  the  only  one  in  the  land  that  has 
preserved  inviolate  these  pristine  forms. 

A  general  effort  was  now  made  to  extend  the  influence 
of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  colonies.  The  politic 
William  of  Orange  looked  upon  the  project  with  a  favor- 
able eye.  A  "  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  foreign  parts  "  was  formed  in  England.  Its  object,  the  1701. 
conversion  of  the  Indians,  was  worthy  ;  but  at  this  time, 
by  means  of  worldly  men  and  politicians,  its  influence  was 
directed  to  the  establishment  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
all  the  American  colonies.  The  project  everywhere  met 
with  great  opposition  except  in  Virginia;  there  the  dissent- 
ers were  few  in  number.  This  society  founded  many 
churches  in  the  colonies,  which  remain  even  to  this  day. 

North  Carolina  was  called  the  "  Sanctuary  of  Run-  1712. 
aways,"  a  "  land  where  there  was  scarcely  any  government/' 
with  a  population  made  up  of  "  Presbyterians,  Independ- 
ents, Quakers,  and  other  evil-disposed  persons."  ^uch  was 
the  language  of  royalists  and  those  opposed  to  freedom  in 
religious  opinions.  The  proprietaries  determined  to  estab- 
lish the  Church  of  England,  and  maintain  it  at  public  ex-  9 
pense.  Those  who  refused  to  conform  to  this  law  were 
debarred  from  holding  offices  of  trust.  The  people  did 
refuse,  and  . soon  there  "was  but  one  clergyman  in  the 
whole  country;"  and  those  in  favor  of  freedom  in  religious 
opinions,  were  stigmatized  as  a  "  rabble  of  profligate  per- 
sons." These  tyrannies  finally  led  to  open  rebellion  on  the 
part  of  the  people,  who  wished  to  govern  themselves,  and 
when  unmolested  did  it  well. 

Thus  far  North  Carolina  had  escaped  the  horrors  of 
Indian  warfare.  There  were  many  tribes  west  and  south 
of  their  territory.  The  greater  part  of  the  region  now 


152  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  occupied  by  the  States  of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  was  the 
_  1  home  of  the  Creeks  or  Muscogees,  numbering  nearly  thirty 
1712.  thousand. 

The  territory  of  the  Yamassees  lay  immediately  west 
of  the  settlement  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Savannah.  In 
the  vicinity  were  the  Catawbas,  on  the  river  which  per- 
petuates their  name.  West  of  these,  a  mountaineer  tribe, 
the  Cherokees,  roamed  through  the  beautiful  valleys  of 
the  upper  Tennessee,  while  they  claimed  as  their  hunting 
grounds  the  regions  north  of  them  to  the  Kanawha  and 
the  Ohio.  Jl 

A  great  change  had  come  over  the  powerful  tribes 
along  the  coast.  The  Hatteras  tribe,  which,  in  Kaleigh's 
time,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  before,  numbered 
nearly  twenty  thousand,  was  now  reduced  to  less  than  one 
hundred.  Some  tribes  had  entirely  disappeared  ;  had 
retired  farther  back  into  the  wilderness,  or  become  extinct. 
Vices  copied  from  the  white  man  had  wrought  this  ruin. 

The  Tuscaroras,  a  warlike  tribe,  whose  ancestors  had 
emigrated  from  the  north,  became  alarmed  at  the  en- 
croachments of  the  colonists  upon  their  lands.  They 
determined  to  make  an  effort  to  regain  their  beautiful 
valleys. 

A  company  of  German  exiles  from  the  Ehine  had 
come  under  the  direction  of  De  GrafFenried.  The  proprieta- 
ries assigned  them  lands  that  belonged  to  the  Indians. 
Lawson,  the  surveyor-general  of  the  province,  and  Graffen- 
ried,  when  on  an  exploring  tour  up  the  Neuse,  were  seized 
by  a  party  of  Tuscaroras,  who  hurried  them  on,  day  and 
night,  to  one  of  their  villages.  There  several  chiefs  of  the 
tribe  held  a  council,  and  discussed  the  wrongs  they  had 
suffered  frpm  the  English.  They  finally  determined  to 
burn  the  man,  who  with  compass  and  chain  had  marked 
out  their  lands  into  farms  for  the  settlers.  When  GrafF- 
enried made  known  to  them  that  he  had  been  only  a  short 
time  in  the  country  ;  that  he  was  the  "chief  of  a  differ- 


THE   TUSCARORA^MIGRATE.  153 

ent  tribe  from  the  English,"  and  moreover  promised  to   CHAP. 

take  no  more  of  their  lands,  they  did  not  put  him  to  death* 

with  Lawson.     He  was  kept  a  prisoner  five  weeks,  and    1712. 
then  permitted  to  return  home.     During  this  time,  the 
Tuscaroras  and  their  allies,  the  Corees,  had  attacked  the 
settlements  on  the  Koanoke  and  Pamlico  sound.     The    1711. 
carnage  continued  for  three  days,  and  many  of  the  poor 
people,  who  had  fled  from  persecution  at  home,  perished 
by  the  tomahawk  in  the  land  of  their  adoption. 

The  people  appealed  to  Virginia  and  to  South  Carolina    1712. 
for  aid.     Only  a  part  of  the  Tuscaroras  had  engaged  in 
the  attack.     With  another  portion  of  the  tribe,  Spots-  « 

wood,  governor  of  Virginia,  made  a  treaty  of  peace,^ — the 
only  assistance  he  could  give.  Governor  Craven  of  South 
Carolina  sent  to  their  aid  a  small  force,  and  a  number  of 
friendly  Indians.  These  drove  the  Tuscaroras  to  their  • 
fort,  and  compelled  them  to  make  peace.  These  same 
troops,  as  they  were  returning  home,  basely  violated  the 
treaty  just  made  ;  attacked  some  Indian  towns,  and  seized 
their  inhabitants  to  sell  them  as  slaves.  The  war  was  of 
course  renewed.  The  Tuscaroras,  driven  from  one  place 
of  concealment  to  another,  and  hunted  for  their  scalps  or 
for  slaves,  finally  abandoned  their  fair  lands  of  the  south ; 
emigrated  across  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  to  the  home 
of  their  fathers,  and  there,  at  the  great  council-fire  of  the 
Iroquois,  or  Five  Nations,  on  Oneida  lake  in  New  York, 
were  admitted  into  that  confederacy,  of  which  they 
became  the  sixth  nation.  At  this  time,  the  people  of  1713. 
Pennsylvania  complained  of  the  importation  of  these  cap- 
tives into  their  colony.  A  law  was  therefore  enacted, 
forbidding  the  introduction  of  "negroes  and  slaves,  as 
exciting  the  suspicion  and  dissatisfaction  of  the  Indians 
of  the  province." 

The  war  seemed  to  be  ended,  and  the  traders  of  South 
Carolina  especially,  extended  their  traffic  with  the  tribes 
who  lived  in  the  region  between  that  colony  and  the  Mis- 


1 


*  9   •> 

154  HISTORY   OF%HE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  sissippi.     Soon  after,  these  traders  were  driven  from  the 
'  *  villages  of  some  of  the  more  western  tribes.     This  was 

1713.    attributed  to  the  influence  of  the  French  of  Louisiana. 

The  Yamassees,  whom  we  have  seen  in  alliance  with 
the  colonists  against  the  Tuscaroras,  when  they  hoped  to 
obtain  captives,  now  renewed  their  friendship  with  the 
Spaniards,  with  whom  they  had  been  at  variance, — for  they 
hated  the  priests,  who  attempted  to  convert  them.  They 
induced  the  Catawbas,  the  Creeks  and  the  Cherokees, 
who  had  also  been  allies  of  the  colonists  against  the 
Tuscaroras,  to  join  them.  This  alliance  was  likewise 
*  attributed  to  Spanish  and  French  influence.  Grovernoi 

Spotswood  seems  to  have  revealed  the  truth,  when  he  wrote 
to  the  "  Board  of  Trade  "  in  London,  that  "  the  Indians 
never  break  with  the  English  without  gross  provocation 
from  persons  trading  with  them."  These  tribes  had  been 
looked  upon  as  "  a  tame  and  peaceable  people,"  and  fair 
game  for  unprincipled  traders. 

1715.  The  savages  cunningly  laid  their  plans,  and  suddenly, 
one  morning,  fell  upon  the  unsuspecting  settlers,  killed 
great  numbers  and  took  many  prisoners.  The  people  fled 
toward  the  sea-shore.  A  swift  runner  hastened  to  Port 
Koyal  and  alarmed  the  inhabitants,  who  escaped  as  best 
they  could  to  Charleston.  The  Indians  continued  to 
prowl  around  the  settlements,  and  drove  the  inhabitants 
before  them,  until  the  colony  was  on  the  verge  of  ruin. 

The  enemy  received  their  first  check  from  forces  sent 
from  North  Carolina.  Governor  Craven  acted  with  his 
usual  energy,  he  raised  a  few  troops  and  went  to  meet  the 
savage  foe.  The  contest  was  long  and  severe  ;  in  the  end 
the  Indian  power  was  broken.  The  Yamassees  emigrated 
to  Florida,  where  they  were  welcomed  with  joy  by  the 
Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine.  The  other  tribes  retired  fur- 
ther into  the  wilderness.  Yet  war-parties  of  the  Yamas- 
sees continued,  for  years,  to  make  incursions  against  the 
frontier  settlements,  and  kept  them  in  a  state  of  alarm. 


I 

IET 


CHARTER    OF    THE    PROPRIETARIES    FORFEITED.  155 

The  proprietaries  made  no  effort  to  protect  the  colo-   CHAP. 
nists  or  to  share  the  expense  of  the  war.     They  at  length  _  L_ 
determined,  as  they  must  defend  themselves,  also  to  man-    1715. 
age  their  own  affairs,  and  they  resolved  "  to  have  no  more 
to  do  with  the  proprietaries,  nor  to  have  any  regard  to 
their  officers."    On  the  other  hand,  the  proprietaries  com- 
plained that  the  "  people  were  industriously  searching  for 
grounds  of  quarrel  with  them,  with  the  view  of  throwing 
off  their  authority."    The  matter  was  brought  before  Par- 
liament, which  declared  the  charter  of  the  proprietaries  to 
be  forfeited. 

Francis  Nicholson,  who  for  many  years  had  been  ex- 
perimenting as  a  colonial  governor,  and,  as  he  said,  "  been 
falsely  sworn  out  of  Virginia  and  lied  out  of  Nova  Scotia," 
was  appointed  provisional  governor.  He  was  not  an  exam-  1720. 
pie  of  good  temper,  and  much  less  of  good  morals.  He 
made  a  treaty  with  the  Cherokees,  who  were  to  permit 
only  Englishmen  to  settle  on  their  lands  ;  and  with  the 
Creeks,  whose  hunting-grounds  were  to  extend  to  the 
Savannah.  He  had  battled  against  popular  rights  in  the 
north,  now  he  thought  best  to  make  his  path  easy,  and  he 
confirmed  all  the  laws  passed  by  the  revolutionary  Assem- 
bly. However,  when  he  left  the  country  he  mourned  over 
the  "  spirit  of  commonwealth  notions  which  prevailed/' 
as  the  result,  as  he  said,  of  intercourse  with  the  New 
Englanders,  who,  at  this  time,  were  busily  engaged  in 
trading  with  the  Carolinas. 

These  disputes  were  at  length  ended  by  an  act  of  Par- 
liament.    Seven  of  the  proprietaries  sold  out  their  claims 
to  the  government  of  England.     The  two  Carolinas  were    1729. 
now  separated,  and  a  royal  governor  appointed  for  each. 


CHAPTEK    XVI. 

COLONIZATION   OF  GEORGIA. 

Founded  in  Benevolence. — Oglethorpe. — First  Emigration. — Savannah. — 
Encouragements. — Germans  from  the  Western  Alps. — Augusta.— The 
Moravians.— Scotch  Highlanders.— The  Wesleys.— Whitefield,  his  Or- 
phan House. — War  with  Spain  ;  its  Cause. — Failure  to  Capture  St.  Au- 
gustine. Repulse  of  the  Spanish  Invaders. — The  Colony  becomes  a 
Royal  Province. 

CHAR  WE  have    seen   some   colonies  founded  as   asylums  for 

L  the   oppressed  for   conscience'  sake,  and  others  the  off- 

1V32.  spring  of  royal  grants  to  needy  courtiers, — bankrupt  in 
fortune,  and  sometimes  in  morals,  seeking  in  their  old  age 
to  retrieve  the  follies  of  their  youth.  It  is  now  a  pleasure 
to  record  the  founding  of  an  asylum  not  alone  for  the 
oppressed  for  conscience7  sake,  but  for  the  victims  of  un- 
righteous law — a  colony  the  offspring  of  benevolence  ;  the 
benevolence  of  one  noble-hearted  man  ; — one  who,  born 
in  affluence,  devoted  his  wealth,  his  mind  and  his  energies 
P*to  the  great  work.  James  Edward  Oglethorpe,  "  the  poor 
man's  friend,"  "  a  Christian  gentleman  of  the  Cavalier 
school,"  had  sympathy  for  the  unfortunate  who  were  im- 
mured within  prison  walls,  not  for  crime,  but  for  debt. 
He  labored  to  have  repealed  the  laws  authorizing  such 
imprisonment,  and  to  reform  the  entire  prison  discipline 
of  England. 

His  efforts  did  not  end  here  ;  he  desired  to  provide  in 
America  an  asylum  for  those  who  were,  while  in  their  own 
land,  at  the  mercy  of  heard-hearted  creditors,  as  well  as 


i 


A  TKUST  FOE  THE  POOR.  157 

j 

a  place  of  refuge  for  the  poor,  where  comfort  and  happi-   CHAP. 

ness  might  be  the  reward  of  industry  and  virtue.     There  '_ 

were,  at  this  time,  in  England,  more  than  four  thousand    1732. 
men  in  prison  for  debt,  with  no  hope  of  relief.     Through 
his  exertions,  "multitudes   were   restored  to   light   and 
freedom,  who  by  long  confinement  were   strangers   and 
helpless  in  the  country  of  their  birth." 

Others  became  interested  in  his  schemes  of  benevo- 
lence, and  a  petition  numerously  signed  by  men  of  influ- 
ence and  family  was  presented  to  the  king.  They  asked 
a  charter  to  colonize  the  territory  south  of  the  Savannah 
river,  then  included  in  Carolina,  with  unfortunate  debtors, 
and  with  Protestants  from  the  continent  of  Europe.  A 
grant  was  given  by  George  II.  of  the  region  lying  between 
the  Savannah  and  the  Altamaha,  and  from  their  head 
springs  west  to  the  Pacific.  The  territory  was  to  be 
known  as  Georgia.  It  was  given  "  in  trust  for  the  poor  " 
to  twenty-one  trustees  for  the  space  of  twenty-one  years. 
The  trustees  manifested  their  zeal  by  giving  their  services 
without  any  reward. 

The  climate  of  this  region  was  thought  to  be  very  fa- 
vorable for  the  raising  of  silk-worms,  and  the  cultivation 
of  the  grape.  Merchants,  therefore,  who  could  not  be 
otherwise  influenced,  were  induced  to  favor  the  cause  by 
hopes  of  gain.  The  "  free  exercise  of  religion  "  was  guar- 
anteed to  all  "  except  papists."  Under  no  conditions  was 
land  to  be  granted  in  tracts  of  more  than  five  hundred 
acres.  This  was  designed  to  enable  the  poor  to  become 
owners  of  the  soil,  and  to  prevent  the  rich  from  monopo- 
lizing the  best  lands. 

Much  interest  was  taken  in  this  new  field  of  benevo- 
lence, and  donations  were  made  by  all  classes  of  society. 
What  a  transition  for  the  poor  debtor  !  He  was  to  ex- 
change the  gloomy  walls  of  a  prison  for  a  home  in  that 
delightful  land,  where  grim  poverty  never  would  annoy 
him  more  !  It  was  determined  to  take  as  colonists  only 


1  ... 

158  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    the  most  needy  and  helpless,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  ex- 
1  elude  those  of  bad  morals. 

1732.  Thirty-five  families,  numbering  altogether  one  hundred 
and  fifty  persons,  embarked  for  their  new  homes.     While 
others  gave  to  the  enterprise  their  substance  and  influ- 
ence, Oglethorpe  volunteered  to  superintend  the  colony  in 
person.     They  took  with  them  "  a  clergyman  with  Bibles, 
Prayer-books,  and  Catechisms,"  and  one  person  who  was 
skilled  in  the  raising  of  silk.     The  company  landed  first 
at  Charleston ;   by  a  vote  of  the  Assembly,  they  were 
welcomed,  and  presented  with  supplies  of  rice  and  cattle. 

Oglethorpe  hastened  to  explore  the  Savannah.  On  a 
bluff  twenty  miles  from  its  mouth  he  planted  his  colony. 
This  bluff  was  already  in  the  possession  of  a  small  band 
of  Indians,  from  whom  it  was  named  the  Yamacraw, 
Through  the  efforts  of  Mary  Musgrove,  who  acted  as  in- 
terpreter, the  bluff  was  purchased.  This  woman  was  a 
daughter  of  a  Uchee  chief,  and  had  been  sent  to  school 
in  Charleston,  where  she  had  married  an  English  trader. 

1733.  The  colonists  immediately  began  to  build  and  fortify 
their  town,  which  they  named  Savannah,  the  Indian  name 
of  the  river.     The  town  was  regularly  laid  out,  with  wide 
streets  and  spacious  squares.     A  garden  of  some  acres 
was  inclosed  for  a  nursery  of  mulberry-trees  to  feed  silk- 
worms ;  and  here  also  experiments  were  made,  in  order  to 
j.ntroduce  European  fruits. 

The  aged  chief  of  the  little  band  of  Indians  wished 
protection.  He  presented  to  Oglethorpe  a  buffalo  skin, 
on  the  inside  of  which  was  painted  an  eagle.  "  The  eagle," 
said  he,  "  signifies  speed,  and  the  buffalo  strength  ;  the 
English  are  swift  as  the  eagle,  for  they  have  flown  over 
vast  seas  ;  they  are  as  strong  as  the  buffalo,  for  nothing 
can  withstand  them  ;  the  feathers  of  the  eagle  are  soft, 
and  signify  love  ;  the  buffalo's  skin  is  warm,  and  signifies 
protection ;  therefore,  I  hope  the  English  will  love  and 
protect  our  little  families."  The  hopes  of  poor  old 


~ 


EMIGRANTS  ;    MORAVIANS.  159 

Tomochechi  and  his  tribe  were  doomed  to  be  sadly  dis-   CHAP. 

XVI. 

appointed.  . 

The  genial  climate  delighted  the  colonists,  and  they  1733. 
went  cheerfully  to  work,  building  their  houses.  The 
chiefs  of  the  lower  Creeks  came  and  made  a  treaty  ;  they 
acknowledged  the  English  rule  from  the  Savannah  to  the 
St.  John's,  and  west  to  the  Chattahoochee,  and  gave 
them  permission  to  cultivate  the  lands  not  used  by  their 
own  people.  Then  came  a  messenger  from  the  distant 
Cherokees,  pledging  the  friendship  of  his  tribe.  Soon 
after  came  a  Choctaw  chief  saying,  "  I  have  come  a 
great  way  :  I  belong  to  a  great  nation  ;  the  French  are 
among  us  ;  we  do  not  like  them  ;  they  build  forts  and 
trade  with  us  ;  their  goods  are  poor,  and  we  wish  to  trade 
with  you."  Thus  the  way  was  opened  for  a  profitable 
traffic  with  the  tribes  north  of  the  gulf,  and  west  to  the 
Mississippi. 

The  fame  of  this  delightful  land  reached  Europe,  and 
penetrated  even  into  the  fastnesses  of  the  western  Alps. 
There,  long  ages  before  the  time  of  Luther's  Keformation, 
a  pure  gospel  had  been  preached,  but  now  a  persecution 
was  raging.  The  sufferings  of  these  Moravians  deeply 
enlisted  the  sympathies  of  the  English  people.  These 
Germans  were  invited  by  the  "  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel,"  to  emigrate  to  Georgia,  where  they 
could  be  free  from  their  persecutors,  and  lands  were  offered 
them  ;  but  they  rejoiced  more  than  all  in  the  opportunity 
given  them  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  Indians.  Money 
was  subscribed  by  the  benevolent  in  England  to  enable 
them  to  travel  from  Augsburg,  across  the  country  to 
Frankfort  on  the  Main.  Nearly  one  hundred  set  out  on 
their  pilgrimage  ;  they  took  with  them,  in  wagons,  their 
wives  and  children  ;  their  Bibles  and  books  of  devotion. 
The  men  as  they  travelled  on  foot  beguiled  the  toils  of  their 
journey  by  singing  praises  to  God,  and  offering  prayers  for 
his  guiding  hand,  and  his  blessing  on  their  enterprise. 


, 

r  160  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.  They  passed  down   the   Main  to  its  junction  with  the 
'_  Khine,*and  thence  floated  down  to  Eotterdam,  where  they 

1733.  were  joined  by  two  clergymen,  Bolzius  and  Gronau.    They 
sailed  to  England,  and  were  there  met  and  encouraged  by 
a  committee  of  the  trustees,  and  thence  to  their  distant 
home  across  the  ocean.     The  faith  that  had  cheered  them 
on  their  native   mountains,  sustained   them   amid    the 
storms  of  the  Atlantic  ;  when,  during  a  terrible  tempest, 
the  waves  broke  over  the  ship,  and  caused  an  outcry  of 
alarm  from  the  English,  they  continued  their  devotions 
and  calmly  sung  on.      When  one  of  them  was  asked, 
"  Were  you  not  afraid  ?  "     "  I  thank  God,  no,"  was  the 
reply.    "  But  were  not  your  women  and  children  afraid  ?  " 
"  No,  our  women  and  children  are  not  afraid  to  die." 

A  passage  of  fifty-seven  days  brought  them  to  receive 
a  hearty  welcome  at  Charleston  from  Oglethorpe,  and  in 

1734.  less  than  a  week  they  were  at  their  journey's  end.     A 
suitable  place  had  been  chosen  for  their  residence,  they 
founded  a  village  a  short  distance  above  Savannah,  and 
significantly  named  it  Ebenezer.    In  gratitude  they  raised 
a  monumental  stone  as  a  memento  of  the  goodness  of  God 
in  thus  bringing  them  to  a  land  of  rest.    They  were  joined 
from  time  to  time  by  others  from  their  native  land.     By 
their  industry  and  good  morals  they  secured  prosperity, 
and  also  the  respect  of  their  fellow-colonists. 

At  the  head  of  boat  navigation  on  the  Savannah  the 
<%fcown  of  Augusta  was  now  founded.  This  soon  became 
an  important  trading  post  with  the  Indians. 

Oglethorpe  gave  himself  unweariedly  to  the  work  of 
benefiting  those  he  governed.  The  success  of  the  enter- 
prise may  be  safely  attributed  to  his  disinterested  labors. 
"  He,"  said  Governor  Johnson,  of  South  Carolina,  "  nobly 
devotes  all  his  powers  to  save  the  poor,  and  to  rescue  them 
from  their  wretchedness."  After  the  residence  of  a  year 
and  a  half  he  returned  to  England,  taking  with  him 


JOHN    AND    CHARLES    WESLEY. 

,  •  w*      $  « 
several  Indian  chiefs,  and  raw  silk — the  product  of  the   CHAP. 

colony — sufficient  to  make  a  robe  for  the  queen.  L 

As  an  inducement  for  settlers,  the  trustees  offered  to    1734. 
each   one    who    should   emigrate,  at  his    own    expense, 
fifty  acres  of  land.     On  these  conditions  came  a  number 
of  Moravians  or  United  Brethren,  with  the  intention  of 
devoting  themselves  to  the   conversion  of  the   Indians.    1V35. 
They  formed  a  new  settlement  on  the  Ogeechee,  south  of 
the  Savannah. 

The  same  benevolent  spirit  which  had  relieved  poor 
debtors  in  prison,  now  devised  measures  to  ward  off  one 
of  the  most  effective  causes  of  debt  and  wretchedness ; 
and  accordingly  the  importation  of  rum  into  the  colony 
was  prohibited.  The  trustees  also  forbid  negro  slavery, 
"  that  misfortune  of  other  plantations."  They  did  not 
wish  to  see  their  province  "  filled  with  blacks,  the  preca- 
rious property  of  a  few."  They  looked  upon  it  as  cruel 
and  inhuman,  and  injurious  to  the  "  poor  white  settlers," 
for  whom,  in  trust,  they  held  the  colony. 

The  next  year  Oglethorpe  returned,  with  more  emi-  1736. 
grants,  among  whom  was  a  party  of  Scotch  Highlanders, 
with  their  minister,  John  McLeod.  These  founded  a  set- 
tlement at  Darien,  on  the  Altamaha.  There  likewise 
came  two  young  men  as  preachers  to  the  people,  and  as 
missionaries  to  the  Indians.  These  were  the  brothers 
John  and  Charles  Wesley, — men  of  ardent  piety  and  zeal- 
ous in  the  cause  of  religion,  they  hoped  to  make  the 
colony  eminent  for  its  religious  character.  Enthusiastic 
in  their  feelings,  and  perhaps  a  little  wanting  in  discretion, 
certainly  in  experience,  they  were  soon  involved  in  trouble. 
For  a  time,  John  Wesley  drew  crowds  of  hearers  ;  places 
of  amusement  were  almost  deserted.  We  doubt  not  that 
he  spoke  the  truth  plainly,  and  in  accordance  with  his 
duty,  but  his  austere  manners  and  denunciation  of  sin 

created  him  enemies.     In  one  case,  his  severe  exercise  of 

*  , 

church  discipline  excited  bitter  feeling  against  himself, 
11 


162  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    and    sympathy  for   the   victim  of   his   injudicious   zeal. 

'__  Charles  Wesley  was,  for  awhile,  the  secretary  of  Ogle- 

1738.  thorpe,  but  in  some  unexplained  manner  he  gave  offence 
to  his  patron  ;  at  length  an  explanation  took  place,  and  a 
reconciliation.  Kind  and  gentle  in  his  nature,  he  was 
unfitted  to  endure  the  hardships  to  be  encountered,  and 
to  sympathize  with  the  unpolished  colonists  of  Georgia. 
After  a  residence  of  less  than  two  years,  the  Wesleys,  dis- 
appointed in  their  hopes  of  doing  good  there,  left  the 
colony  forever.  In  their  native  land  they  became  the 
founders  of  the  denomination  of  Methodists,  who  have 
been,  in  that  very  colony,  as  well  as  in  others,  among  the 
foremost  in  carrying  the  gospel  to  destitute  settlements. 
Thus  their  labors  were  blessed,  their  prayers  were  an- 
swered, and  their  hopes  realized  ;  but,  as  is  often  the  case 
«  in  the  ways  of  Infinite  Wisdom,  not  in  the  form  and 
manner  in  which  they  expected. 

Just  as  the  Wesleys,  on  their  return  home,  were  pass- 
ing up  the  channel,  their  friend  and  fellow-laborer,  the 
celebrated  G-eorge  Whitefield,  the  most  eloquent  preacher 
of  his  day,  was  leaving  England  to  join  them  in  Georgia. 
Whitefield  had  commenced  preaching  when  a  mere  youth, 
and  by  his  wonderful  eloquence  drew  great  crowds.  He 
first  preached  in  the  prisons,  and  then  to  the  poor  in  the 
open  fields.  Now  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  visit  the  colonies. 
When  he  arrived  in  Georgia,  his  sympathies  were  much 
enlisted  in  behalf  of  the  destitute  children,  left  orphans. 
He  visited  the  Moravians  at  Ebenezer,  where  he  noticed 
their  asylum  for  poor  children,  and  determined,  if  possible, 
to  found  a  similar  one.  By  his  fervent  zeal  in  the  cause 
he  obtained  sufficient  funds  in  England  and  America. 
The  institution  was  founded  a  few  miles  from  Savannah. 
During  his  lifetime  it  flourished  ;  at  his  death  it  began  to 
languish,  and  finally  passed  out  of  existence. 

The  Spaniards  were  not  pleased  with  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  English  upon  what  they  deemed  their  terri- 


ENGLISH    TRADERS  ;    WAR   WITH    SPAIN.  163 

tory,  and  they  sent  commissioners  to  protest  against  it,  CHAP. 
and  to  demand  the  surrender  of  all  Georgia  and  part  of   1 


Carolina.     When  this  was  unheeded,  they  prepared  to  ex-    1V38. 
pel  the  invaders.     There  were  other  causes,  which  made 
it  evident  that  war  would  soon  take  place  between  the 
mother  countries,  in  which  the  colonies  would  certainly 
become  involved. 

The  European  governments  restricted  the  commerce 
of  their  colonies  so  as  to  make  them  subserve  their  own 
interests.  Those  belonging  to  Spain  must  trade  only  with 
the  port  of  Cadiz,  and  the  merchandise  shipped  to  them 
was  sold  at  enormous  prices.  The  English  traders  per- 
sisted in  smuggling  goods  into  the  Spanish  ports.  To 
accomplish  this  they  resorted  to  various  stratagems.  By 
treaty,  an  English  vessel  was  permitted  to  come  once  a 
year  to  Portobello  and  dispose  of  her  cargo  ;  but  this  * 
vessel  was  followed  by  others  ;  they  came  in  the  night 
time,  and  slipped  in  more  bales  to  supply  the  place  of 
those  sold,  and  continued  to  do  this,  till  the  market  was 
supplied.  Sometimes,  under  the  pretence  of  distress,  ships 
would  run  into  Spanish  ports,  and  thus  dispose  of  their 
cargoes. 

Though  Spain  was  rich  and  feeble,  she  was  haughty 
and  cruel ;  and  when  any  of  these  worthies,  who  were 
engaged  in  violating  her  laws,  were  caught,  they  were 
severely  dealt  with.  Sometimes  they  were  imprisoned, 
and  sometimes  their  ears  were  cropped.  This  exasperated 
the  traders,  and  though  justly  punished,  they  came  with 
the  assurance  of  ill-treated  men,  to  ask  protection  from 
their  own  government.  They  were  looked  upon  as  mar- 
tyrs to  the  cause  of  free  commerce,  and  merchants,  in 
defence  of  such  men  as  these,  did  not  blush  to  clamor  for 
war,  in  the  face  of  justice  and  national  integrity.  In 
truth,  the  English  government  connived  at  this  clandes- 
tine trade,  and  secretly  rejoiced  at  the  advantage  gained 
over  her  rival.  By  this  connivance  at  injustice  she  gave 


•** 


164 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


CHAP,   her  own  colonies  a  lesson  on  the  subject  of  their  trade, 

_  L  which,  in  less  than  half  a  century,  she  found,  to  her  sur- 

1738.    prise,  they  had  fully  learned. 

Another  source  of  irritation  to  the  people  of  South 
Carolina,  was  that  slaves,  who  ran  away  to  Florida  and 
put  themselves  under  Spanish  protection,  were  not  only 
welcomed,  but  given  lands  ;  organized  into  military  com- 
panies, and  armed  at  the  public  expense.  A  demand 
made  upon  the  authorities  at  St.  Augustine  to  restore  the 
runaways,  was  promptly  refused.  Oglethorpe  hastened  to 

1737.  England  to  make  preparations  for  the  coming  contest,  and 
returned  in  less  than  a  year,  with  a  regiment  of  six  hun- 
dred men,  which  he  himself  had  raised  and  disciplined. 
He  was  now  prepared  to  defend  the  southern  boundary  of 
Georgia.  He  renewed  treaties  with  the  Indian  tribes 
3  north  of  the  Gulf  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi, 
and  hoped  to  retain  them  in  his  interest.  War  was,  at 

l^gf  length,  declared  by  England  against  Spain,  and  Ogle- 
thorpe received  orders,  as  military  commander  in  Georgia 
and  the  Carolinas,  to  invade  Florida.  With  his  usual 
energy,  he  hastened  to  Charleston  to  make  the  necessary 
preparations.  Supplies  were  voted  and  a  regiment  en- 
listed ;  and,  joined  by  Indian  allies,  he  set  out  to  lay 
siege  to  St.  Augustine.  He  found  the  garrison  much 
more  numerous  than  he  expected,  and  the  fortifications 
stronger.  After  a  short  siege,  the  Indians  began  to  desert, 
and  the  Carolina  regiment,  enfeebled  by  sickness,  returned 
home.  In  five  weeks  the  enterprise  was  abandoned.  On 
this  occasion,  Oglethorpe  exhibited  the  kindness  of  his 
nature  ;  he  endured  all  the  privations  of  the  common  sol- 
diers. The  captives  taken  were  treated  kindly,  no  houses 

1740.    were  burned,  and  but  little  property  destroyed. 

This  war  had  a  very  bad  effect  upon  the  colony  of 
Georgia.  Instead  of  making  farmers  of  the  settlers,  it 
made  them  soldiers,  and  their  farms  were  neglected.  The 
Moravians,  who  were  religiously  opposed  to  bearing  arms, 


THE    SPANIARDS   INVADE    GEORGIA.  16 


5 


left  tlie  colony  in  great   numbers,  and   emigrated,  with 
other  disaffected  persons,  to  the  Carolinas. 

It  was  ere  long  the  turn  of  Georgia  to  be  invaded,  !740. 
For  this  purpose,  the  Spaniards  at  Havana  and  St. 
Augustine  fitted  out  thirty-six  vessels  and  three  thousand  1742. 
troops.  The  commander.  Monteano,  instead  of  sailing 
direct  for  Savannah,  became  entangled  among  the  islands, 
near  the  mouths  of  the  St.  Mary  and  the  Altamaha,  while 
endeavoring  to  take  possession  of  one  or  two  insignificant 
settlements.  Oglethorpe  ascertained  the  intention  of  the 
enemy,  but  as  he  had  received  no  assistance  from  Carolina, 
was  ill  prepared  to  meet  them.  Having  but  eight  hun- 
dred men,  he  was  forced  to  retreat  from  Cumberland 
island  to  St.  Simons,  on  which  was  the  little  town  of 
Frederica,  the  special  object  of  the  Spanish  attack. 

After  the  enemy  landed  he  went  to  surprise  them  in 
the  night,  but  as  he  approached  their  lines,  one  of  his 
soldiers,  a  Frenchman,  fired  his  gun,  rushed  into  the  ene- 
my's camp,  and  gave  the  alarm.  Oglethorpe  employed 
stratagem  to  throw  suspicion  upon  the  deserter  ;  he  wrote 
him  a  letter,  in  which  he  addressed  him  as  a  spy  for  the 
English,  and  directed  him  to  induce  the  Spaniards  to 
attack  them,  or  at  least  to  remain  where  they  were  until 
the  English  fleet  of  six  men-of-war,  which  had  sailed  from 
Charleston,  should  reach  St.  Augustine,  and  capture  it. 
This  letter  he  bribed  a  Spanish  prisoner  to  carry  to  the 
Frenchman.  As  was  to  be  expected,  it  was  taken  imme- 
diately to  the  Spanish  commander,  and  the  Frenchman 
soon  found  himself  in  irons.  In  the  midst  of  the  alarm, 
some  Carolina  ships,  laden  with  supplies  for  Oglethorpe, 
appeared  in  the  offing.  Thinking  these  the  veritable  men- 
of-war  mentioned  in  the  letter,  the  invaders  determined 
to  attack  and  destroy  Frederica,  before  they  should  sail 
to  defend  St.  Augustine.  On  the  way  they  fell  into  an 
ambuscade,  and,  at  a  place  since  known  as  the  "  Bloody 
Marsh,"  they  were  signally  defeated.  The  following  night 


166  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

°xviP'    ^7  embarked,  and  sailed  to  defend  St.  Augustine  from 

, L  the  expected  attack.     Thus  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas 

1743.    were  saved  from  ruin. 

The  following  year  Oglethorpe  left  the  colony  forever. 
There  he  had  spent  ten  years  of  toil  and  self-denial ;  he 
had  for  his  reward  no  personal  benefit,  but  the  satisfaction 
of  founding  a  State,  and  of  leaving  it  in  a  prosperous  con- 
dition. The  form  of  government  was  changed  from  a 
military  to  a  civil  rule,  and  the  various  magistrates  were 
appointed. 

In  time,  slavery  was  gradually  introduced.  Slaves 
were  at  first  hired  from  the  Carolinas,  for  a  short  time, 
and  then  for  one  hundred  years.  The  German  settlers 
were  industrious  and  frugal,  and  so  were  the  Highlanders. 
They  were  opposed  to  the  introduction  of  slaves.  On  the 
other  hand,  great  numbers  of  the  English  settlers  were 
idle  and  bankrupt  from  their  improvidence  ;  "  they  were 
unwilling  to  labor,  but  were  clamorous  for  privileges  to 
which  they  had  no  right."  They  contended  that  rum  was 
essential  to  health  in  that  climate,  and  that  none  but 
slaves  could  cultivate  the  soil  of  Georgia  ;  and,  in  seven 
years  after  the  benevolent  Oglethorpe  left,  slave  ships 
brought  negroes  to  Savannah,  direct  from  Africa. 

1750.  The  trustees,  when  the  twenty-one  years  for  which 
they  were  to  manage  the  "  colony  for  the  poor "  were 
expired,  resigned  their  trust,  and  Georgia  became  a  royal 

if 63..   province.  ^ 


CHAPTEK  XVII. 

NEW  ENGLAND  UNDER  CHARLES  II.  AND  JAMES  II. 

1 '  •< 

The  Restoration. — The  Commissioners. — Progress  of  Trade. — Causes  of  $ 
King  Philip's  War.— Death  of  Wamsutta.— State  of  the  Colony.— At- 
tack at  Swanzey. — Philip  among  the  Nipmucks. — Attacks  on  Northfield, 
and  on  Hadley. — Goffe. — The  Tragedy  at  Bloody  Brook. — Philip  among 
the  Narragansets. — Their  Fort  captured. — The  Warriors  take  Revenge. 
— Philip  returns  to  Mount  Hope  to  die. — Disasters  of  the  War. — James 
II. — The  Charters  in  danger. — Andros  Governor  ;  his  illegal  Measures ; 
takes  away  the  Charter  of  Rhode  Island ;  not  so  successful  at  Hart- 
ford.— Andros  in  Jail. — The  Charters  resumed. 

THE  first  intimation  of  the   restoration  of   Charles  II.  CHAP. 

XVII 

was  brought  to  New  England  by  two  fugitives,  Whalley  '_ 

and  Goffe.  They  came  branded  as  regicides,  for  they  sat  1660. 
on  the  trial  of  Charles  I.  They  had  fled  for  their  lives  ; 
ere  long  came  the  royal  command  to  deliver  them  up  to 
their  pursuers,  that  they  might  be  taken  back  to  England 
and  there  punished.  *'But  royal  commands  and  rewards 
were  of  no  avail,  the  stern  republicans  were  not  betrayed ; 
the  people  gloried  in  protecting  them.  •  ^  4 

Kumors  were  afloat  that  the  governments  of  all  the 
colonies  were  to  be  changed,  and  that  soon  armed  ships 
might  be  expected  in  the  harbor  of  Boston,  sent  to  enforce 
the  royal  authority.  After  a  year's  delay,  it  was  thought 
prudent  to  proclaim  Charles  as  king.  It  was  done  ungra- 
ciously, as  all  manifestations  of  joy  were  forbidden. 

From  time  to  time  intelligence  came  of  the  execution 
of  many  of  their  best  friends  in  England  ;  among  these 
were  Hugh  Peters  and  Sir  Harry  Yane  :  news  came  also 


168  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

jjk 

CHAP,  that  Episcopacy  was  again  in  power,  and  that  more  than 

1  two  thousand  clergymen  had  been  driven  from  their  con- 

1663.  gregations  because  they  would  not  conform.  At  length, 
two  agents  were  sent  to  conciliate  the  king,  and  to  make 
guarded  professions  of  loyalty,  as  well  as  to  ask  permission 
to  make  laws  against  the  Quakers. 

Connecticut  and  Ehode  Island  had  both  received  lib- 
eral charters  from  Charles,  the  former  obtained  principally 
through  the  influence  of  the  younger  Winthrop.  Mean- 
time the  intolerance  of  Massachusetts  had  raised  up 
gainst  her  a  host  of  enemies,  who  were  continually  whis- 
pering their  complaints  into  the  royal  ear.  The  alarm  was 
presently  increased,  by  information  that  commissioners 
had  been  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  affairs  of  the 
colony.  To  provide  for  the  future,  the  charter  was,  for 
safe-keeping,  secretly  given  to  a  committee  appointed  by 
the  General  Court. 

When  the  commissioners  came,  they  outraged  the 
prejudices  of  the  people  by  having  the  Episcopal  service 
performed  in  Boston.  The  Puritans  observed  the  evening 
of  Saturday  as  holy  time  ;  after  the  Jewish  custom,  they 
commenced  their  Sabbath  at  sunset.  As  if  to  annoy 
them,  the  commissioners  habitually  spent  their  Saturday 
evenings  in  carousals.  They  also  took  in  hand  to  redress 
grievances,  and  invited  all  those  who  had  complaints  to 
make  against  the  Massachusetts  colony,  to  bring  them  to 
their  knowledge.  Khode  Island  came  with  her  complaints, 
and  the  Narraganset  chiefs  with  theirs  ;  but  the  General 
Court  cut  the  matter  short,  by  forbidding  such  proceed- 
ings, as  contrary  to  the  charter. 

f .  The  laws  passed  by  the  mother  country  for  the  express 
purpose  of  crippling  the  trade  of  the  colonies,  could  not 
be  enforced,  and  Boston  especially  attracted  attention  by 
her  prosperous  commerce.  Industry  and  temperance  in- 
sured the  prosperity  of  the  people,  and  they  increased  in 
riches  and  in  numbers  ;  they  also  found  means  to  indulge 


CAUSES    OF    KING   PHILIP'S   WAR.  169 

their  taste,  and  began  to  embellish  their  villages.     Massa-   CHAP. 

chusetts  traded  not  only  with  the  other  colonies,  but  her  L 

ships   were  found  in  every  sea  where  commerce  invited,    1663. 
and  not  only  England  traded  with  her,  but  France  and 
Spain,  Holland  and  Italy,  were  competitors  for  her  favors. 

For  forty  years  there  had  been  no  Indian  war  in  New 
England  ;  the  fate  of  the  Pequods  was  not  forgotten. 
During  this  time  the  number  of  the  Indians  had  not 
diminished,  while  that  of  the  colonists  had  greatly  in- 
creased. Their  farms  had  extended  in  every  direction  ; 
they  gradually  absorbed  the  best  lands  of  th6  country, 
and  crowded  the  Indians  down  on  the  little  bays  and  pen- 
insulas, on  the  southern  shore  of  Massachusetts  and  Khode 
Island.  This  policy  was  openly  avowed,  as  thereby  they 
could  be  more  easily  watched. 

The  Wampanoags  and  Narragansets  were  especially 
aggrieved.  They  could  not,  without  great  exertion,  obtain 
the  means  of  living  ;  the  animals  which  they  hunted,  had 
been  nearly  all  driven  away,  and  they  were  forced  to  de- 
pend upon  fish,  and  of  these  they  could  obtain  but  a 
scanty  supply,  and  they  had  not  learned  the  art  of  culti- 
vating the  soil,  but  in  a  very  rude  manner. 

Massasoit,  the  friend  who  had  welcomed  the  early 
Pilgrims,  left  two  sons,  Wamsutta  and  Metacom.  Years 
before  their  father's  death  these  young  men  went  to  Plym- 
outh, where  they  entered  into  friendly  relations  with  the 
English,  and  received  from  them  the  names  by  which  we 
know  them,  Alexander  and  Philip.  They  were  no  ordi- 
nary men,  they  seemed  to  have  perceived  from  the  first 
the  dangers  that  threatened  their  race.  If  so,  they  con^ 
cealed  their  impressions,  and  could  never  be  won  over  to 
the  religion  of  the  English.  When  Massasoit  died,  and 
Wamsutta  became  chief  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags,  the 
colonists,  incited  by  Uncas,  chief  of  the  Mohegans,  his 
bitter  enemy,  became  suspicious  of  him.  As  he  reposed 


170  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CRAP.    at  his  hunting  lodge  with  eighty  of  his  followers,  he  was 

surprised  by  Winslow,  who  had  been  sent  with  an  armed 

1671.  force  to  bring  him  to  the  court  at  Plymouth.  Wamsutta 
thought  not  of  danger  ;  his  arms  and  those  of  his  warriors 
were  outside  the  lodge  and  easily  secured.  When  Wins- 
low,  with  his  pistol  at  his  breast,  told  the  astonished  chief 
he  must  go  with  him,  his  proud  spirit  was  roused  to  bitter 
indignation.  His  exasperation  threw  him  into  a  fever  so 
violent,  that  he  was  unable  to  proceed  far.  In  conse- 
quence of  his  illness  he  was  permitted  to  return  home. 
mm  "  He  died"  on  his  way.  He  was  carried  home  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  men,  and  borne  to  his  silent  grave  near  Mount 
Hope,  in  the  evening  of  the  day,  and  in  the  prime  of  his 
life,  between  lines  of  sad,  quick-minded  Indians,  who  well 
believed  him  the  victim  of  injustice  and  ingratitude  ;  for 
his  father  had  been  the  ally,  not  the  subject  of  England, 
and  so  was  he,  and  the  like  indignity  had  not  before  been 
put  upon  any  sachem."* 

It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  untimely  and  tragical 
fate  of  Wamsutta  gave  character  to  the  latent  hostility 
that  existedin  the  mind  of  his  brother  Philip  toward  the 
English  race.  Soon  suspicions  fell  upon  him,  and  at  one 
time  he  was  harshly  treated,  and  compelled  to  give  up  his 
fire-arms.  A  praying  Indian,  who  lived  with  Philip,  told 
1675.  the  colonists  that  the  Wampanoags  entertained  some  de- 
signs, against  them.  There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  truth 
of  this  story  ;  however,  a  short  time  after  this  Indian  was 
found  murdered.  Suspicion  fell  upon  three  of  Philip's 
men,  who  werfe  apprehended  by  the  authorities  of  Plym- 
outh, and  brought  to  trial ;  they  were  pronounced  guilty 
•by  a  jury  composed  of  English  and  Indians.  The  execu- 
tion of  these  men  aroused  the  slumbering  enmity  of  the 
tribe.  The  young  warriors  were  clamorous  for  war,  while 
the  old  men  dreaded  the  contest.  Philip,  from  his  supe- 

*  Elliott's  Hist,  of  New  England. 


THE   WAR    BEGINS   AT    SWANZEY.  171 

rior  sagacity,  foresaw  that  an  attempt    to   regain  their  CHAP. 
lands  would  end  in  their  own  destruction.  . 1 

The  colonists  could  now  have  warded  off  the  strife  by  1675. 
conciliating  the  Indians.  No  effort  was  made  to  soothe 
their  wounded  feelings,  they  were  treated  as  "  bloody 
heathen/'  whom  it  was  their  duty,  as  "  the  chosen  of  the 
Lord,"  to  drive  out  of  the  land.  Avarice,  contrary  to  ex- 
press law,  had  been  for  many  years  furnishing  the  savages 
with  fire-arms,  and  when  the  contest  came,  they  were  far 
more  formidable  than  the  Pequods  had  been  ;  to  conquer 
them  required  a  great  sacrifice  of  the  best  blood  of  the 
colony. 

Though  there  were  settlements  more  or  less  extending 
from  Boston  to  Westfield  on  the  west,  and  to  Northfield 
in  the  Connecticut  valley  on  the  borders  of  Vermont,  and 
on  the  north  to  Haverhill  on  the  Merrimac,  there  were 
vast  solitudes,  whose  secret  glens  and  hiding-places  were 
known  only  to  the  Indians.  The  spirit  of  the  tribes  near 
the  settlements  was  broken  by  their  contact  with  the 
superior  whites,  but  Philip  had  under  his  control  seven 
hundred  brave  warriors,  who  rejoiced  in  their  freedom,  and 
scorned  to  be  the  subjects  of  any  white  chief  beyond  the 
great  waters.  They  not  only  rejected  the  religion  of  the 
white  man,  but  despised  those  tribes  who  had  adopted  it. 

In  prospect  of  the  threatened  war,  a  day  of  fasting 
and  prayer  was  observed  ;  as  the  people  were  returning 
from  church  at  Swanzey,  they  were  suddenly  attacked  by 
a  company  of  Philip's  men,  and  seven  or  eight  persons  June 
killed.  Philip  shed  tears  when  he  heard  that  blood  had 
been  shed  ;  the  dreaded  ruin  of  his  people  was  drawing 
near.  His  tribe,  single-handed,  entered  upon  the  conifr  ^ 
test  ;  the  others  were  either  the  allies  of  the  English  or 
indifferent.  He  scorned  to  desert  his  people,  or  forfeit  his 
character  as  a  warrior,  and  he  threw  himself  into  the  con- 
test with  the  whole  energy  of  his  nature. 

The  war  began  within  the  bounds  of  the  Plymouth 


172  HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP-   colony  ;  but  volunteers  hastened  to  its  aid  from  Massa- 
chusetts.     The  army  invaded  the  territory  of  the  Wam- 


1675.  panoags,  and  in  a  few  weeks  Philip,  driven  from  Mount 
Hope,  became  a  fugitive  among  the  Nipmucks,  a  tribe 
in  the  interior  of  Massachusetts.  After  the  flight  of 
Philip  and  his  warriors,  the  little  army  went  into  the 
territory  of  the  Narragansets,  and  compelled  them  to 
promise  neutrality,  and  also  to  deliver  up  the  fugitive 
Indians  who  should  flee  to  them.  They  fondly  hoped  the 
war  was  at  an  end  ;  but  this  was  only  its  beginning. 

The  Nipmucks  were  induced  to  make  common  cause 
July  with  Philip  and  his  tribe.  His  warriors,  partially  armed 
24'  with  muskets,  prowled  round  the  settlements,  ruthlessly 
murdered  the  whites,  and  treated  their  remains  with  sav- 
age barbarity.  The  Indians  were  familiar  with  the  hidden 
paths  of  the  wilderness  ;  not  daring  to  meet  the  colonists 
in  open  conflict,  they  watched  for  opportunities  of  secret 
attack.  It  was  not  known  when  or  where  the  storm 
would  burst,  and  the  terror-stricken  inhabitants  along  the 
frontiers  fled  to  the  more  thickly  settled  portions. 

Superstition  added  her  terrors.  The  people  saw  an 
Indian  bow  drawn  across  the  heavens  ;  a  scalp  appeared 
on  the  face  of  the  eclipsed  moon  ;  troops  of  phantom 
horsemen  galloped  through  the  air  ;  the  howlings  of  the 
wolves  were  more  than  usually  fearful,  and  portended  some 
terrible  ruin  ;  whizzing  bullets  were  heard  in  the  whist- 
ling wind  ;  the  northern  lights  glowed  with  an  unusual 
glare — the  harbinger  of  the  punishment  of  sin.  They  be- 
gan to  enumerate  their  sins  ;  among  these  were  the 
neglect  of  the  training  of  children,  the  using  of  profane 
^language,  the  existence  of  tippling  houses,  the  want  of 
respect  for  parents,  the  wearing  of  long  and  curled  hair 
by  the  men,  the  flaunting  of  gaudy-colored  ribbons  by 
the  women  ;  and  intolerance  whispered  that  they  had 
been  too  lenient  to  the  Quakers. 

The  Nipmucks  had  fifteen    hundred  warriors  ;  with 


' 


GOFFE    THE   REGICIDE.  173 

some  of  these  Philip  hastened  to  the  valley  of  the  Con-  CHAP. 
necticut,  and  spread  desolation  from  Springfield,  through 
all  the  settlements  to  the  farthest  town  of  Northfield. 

An  effort  was  made  to  win  back  the  Nipmucks  to 
their  old  allegiance  ;  and  Captain  Hutchinson,  son  of 
Anne  Hutchinson,  was  sent  with  twenty  men  to  treat 
with  them,  but  the  whole  company  was  waylaid  and  mur- 
dered at  Brookfield.  That  place  was  burned  ;  the  people 
fled  to  the  strongest  house,  which  was  besieged  two  days, 
and  finally  set  on  fire  ;  but  providentially  a  storm  of  rain 
extinguished  the  flames,  and  others  coming  to  iHeir  assist- 
ance,  the  Indians  were  driven  off. 

The  enemy  concerted  to  make  their  attacks  on  the 
same  day  and  hour,  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  On 
the  Sabbath,  which  seems  to  have  been  chosen  by  them 
as  the  day  most  favorable  for  an  attack,  they  burned 
Deerfield  ;  and,  as  the  people  were  worshipping  in  church, 
they  attacked  Hadley.  Suddenly  there  appeared  a  tall 
and  venerable  looking  man,  with  a  white  flowing  beard, 
who  brandished  a  sword  and  encouraged  and  directed  the 
people  in  the  battle.  When  the  savages  were  driven  off, 
he  disappeared  ;  some  thought  him  an  angel,  specially 
sent  by  heaven  to  their  aid.  It  was  Goffe,  one  of  the  reg- 
icides of  whom  we  have  spoken.  These  regicides  had 
been  hunted  by  zealous  royalists  from  one  place  of  refuge 
to  another  ;  now  they  were  sheltered  by  the  good  minister, 
John  Davenport,  of  New  Haven  ;  now  by  friends  at  Mil- 
ford  ;  now  they  had  wandered  in  the  pathless  wilderness, 
and  once  they  had  heard  the  sound  of  their  enemies' 
horses,  as  in  hot  pursuit  of  them,  they  crossed  the  very 
bridge  under  which  they  were  secreted  ;  they  had  rested 
in  a  cave  on  the  top  of  "  West  Kock,"  New  Haven,  known 
to  this  day  as  the  "Judges'  Cave,"  and  at  this  time  they 
were  living  secretly  in  the  house  of  minister  Eussell,  at 
Hadley.  Thus  they  passed  their  remaining  years  ban- 
ished from  society  and  from  the  occupations  of  life. 
* 


* 


174  HISTOKY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

xvlf '         ^  company  of  chosen  young  men,  "  the  flower  of  the 

L  county  of   Essex/'  eighty  in  number,  were  engaged  in 

1675.  bringing  the  fruits  of  harvest  down  from  the  vicinity  of 
t  Deerfield  to  Hadley,  where  it  was  proposed  to  establish  a 
magazine  for  provisions.  They  fell  into  an  ambuscade  of 
seven  hundred  warriors,  and,  after  a  desperate  encounter, 
nearly  all  perished,  at  the  crossing  of  a  little  stream,  since 
called  the  "  Bloody  Brook." 

Sept.  Ere  long  the  flourishing  settlement  of  Hatfield  was 
attacked  ;  and  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  Springfield 
JL  were  induied  to  take  up  arms  ;  but  the  people  were  pre- 
Oct.  pared,  and  repulsed  them.  Philip  returned  home,  but 
finding  Mount  Hope  in  ruins,,  he  went  among  the  Narra- 
gansets.  The  colonists  feared  that  he  would  induce  them 
to  join  him,  and  in  self-defence  they  resolved  to  treat 
them  as  enemies.  The  winter,  by  stripping  the  trees  and 
bushes  of  their  leaves,  had  deprived  the  Indians  of  their 
hiding  places,  and  the  swamps,  their  favorite  sites  for 
forts,  could  be  passed  over  when  frozen.  A  company  of 
one  thousand  men  set  out  to  attack  their  principal  fort. 
This  place  of  defence  contained  about  six  hundred  wig- 
wams and  nearly  three  thousand  of  the  tribe ;  warriors 
with  their  wives  and  children,  and  an  abundance  of  pro- 
visions for  the  winter.  They  thought  themselves  secure  ; 
they  had  taken  no  part  in  the  war. 

Guided  by  an  Indian  traitor,  the  army  marched  fifteen 
miles  through  a  deep  snow,  and  finally  arrived  at  the  Nar- 
raganset  fort,  situated  near  where  the  village  of  Kingston 
in  Ehode  Island  now  stands.  Their  fort,  surrounded  by 
a  palisade,  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  swamp,  and  was  almost 
inaccessible  ;  it  had  but  one  entrance,  the  narrow  passage 
1gC'  to  which  was  along  the  body  of  a  fallen  tree.  After  a 
severe  contest  of  two  hours,  the  English  forced  themselves 
within  the  fort,  and  applied  the  torch  to  the  frail  and 
combustible  wigwams.  A  thousand  warriors  were  slain, 
and  hundreds  were  made  prisoners.  Their  provisions 


DEATH    OF   PHILIP.  175 

were  all  destroyed,  and  those  who  escaped  were  left  shel-   CHAP. 
terless  in  the  winter  storms.     They  were  forced  to  dig  in  L 


the  snow  for  nuts  and  acorns  to  sustain  life,  and  great    1675. 
numbers  died  of  exposure  and  famine  before  spring.     The 
colonists  suffered  severely ;  they  lost  six  captains,  and  two 
hundred  and  fifty  men  killed  and  wounded. 

The  surviving  Narraganset  warriors  took  vengeance  ; 
they  went  from  place  to  place  ;  they  massacred,  they 
burned,  they  destroyed.  The  settlements  in  their  vicinity 
were  abandoned.  Though  Rhode  Island  had  not  joined 
in  the  war,  they  made  no  distinction,  and  Providence  was  ^ 
almost  destroyed.  The  now  aged  Roger  Williams  felt 
it  his  duty  to  act  as  captain,  in  defending  the  town 
he  had  founded.  Bands  of  warriors  swept  through  and 
through  the  territory  of  Plymouth,  and  the  people  were 
only  safe  when  within  their  forts.  Towns  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  were  attacked  at  the  same  time  ;  the 
enemy  seemed  to  be  every  where. 

The  majority  of  the  Indians  continued  to  fight  ;  and  1676. 
though  they  fought  without  hope,  they  preferred  death  to 
submission.  Others  quarrelled  among  themselves,  charg- 
ing one  another  with  being  the  cause  of  the  war.  At 
length  the  Nipmucks  submitted  ;  and  the  tribes  on  the  June. 
Connecticut,  having  grown  weary  of  the  contest,  would 
shelter  Philip  no  longer.  He  now  appealed,  but  in  vain, 
to  the  Mohawks  to  take  up  arms.  In  desperation,  he 
determined  to  return  and  die  at  Mount  Hope.  When 
one  of  his  followers  proposed  to  make  peace,  the  indignant 
chieftain  struck  him  dead  at  a  blow.  It  was  soon  noised 
abroad  that  Philip  had  returned  to  his  old  home.  Benja- 
min Church,  the  most  energetic  of  the  English  captains, 
surprised  his  camp,  dispersed  his  followers,  and  took  pris- 
oner his  wife  and  little  son.  Philip's  spirit  was  now 
crushed  ;  he  exclaimed  :  "  My  heart  breaks  ;  I  am  ready 
to  die  !  "  A  few  days  after  he  was  shot  by  a  traitor  of  his  Aug. 
own  tribe.  His  orphan  boy  was  now  to  be  disposed  of. 


17G  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.   He  was  taken  to  Boston  ;  some  were  in  favor  of  putting 

1  him  to  death,  others  of  selling  him  into  slavery.     The 

1676.    latter  prevailed,  and  the  last  prince  of  the  Wampanoags, 
JT  the  grandson  of  generous  old  Massasoit,  who  had  welcomed 
the  Pilgrims,  and  had  given  them  his  friendship,  was  sent 
to  toil  as  a  slave  under  the  burning  sun  of  Bermuda. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  renewed  efforts  were  made 
to  convert  the  remaining  Indians,  but  without  success. 
The  habits  of  a  people  are  not  easily  changed.  If  those 
who  came  in  contact  with  them  had  set  them  a  Christian 
example,  as  did  Eliot,  and  the  "learned  and  gentle" 
Mayhew,  the  effect  might  have  been  different.  The  war 
had  completely  broken  the  power  of  the  Indians.  The 
more  bold  emigrated  to  Canada,  and  avenged  themselves 
in  after  years,  by  guiding  war  parties  of  the  French  against 
the  English  settlements.  Some  went  to  the  west,  and,  it 
is  said,  their  descendants  are  at  this  day  roaming  over  its 
wide  prairies.  But  the-  great  majority  lost  their  native 
independence,  and  became  still  more  degraded  by  marry- 
ing with  the  negroes.  At  this  day,  a  few  descendants  of 
the  warriors  who  once  roved  over  the  hills  and  valleys  of 
New  England,  may  be  seen  lingering  in  the  land  of  their 
fathers. 

For  a  time  the  effect  of  the  war  was  disastrous  ; 
though  it  lasted  but  little  more  than  a  year,  a  dozen  vil- 
lages were  in  ashes,  and  others  nearly  destroyed.  Of  the 
private  dwellings,  a  tenth  part  had  been  burned,  six  hun- 
dred of  the  men  of  the  colony  had  perished  in  battle,  not 
to  mention  the  women  and  children  ruthlessly  massacred. 
Almost  every  family  was  in  mourning.  The  expenses  of 
the  war  were  great,  and  for  years  weighed  heavily  upon 
the  people,  while  the  desolation  of  the  settlements  par- 
alyzed their  energies. 

No  aid  came  to  the  sufferers  from  England  ;  but  be  it 
remembered^  that  a  Non-conformist  church  in  Dublin 
sent  them  five  hundred  pounds.  Instead  of  aiding  them, 


DESPOTISM   OF    JAMES.  177 

the  spendthrift  Charles  devised  means  to  extort  money   CHAP. 

from  them  by  taxing  their  trade.     This  led  to  the  estab-  1 

lishment  of  a  royal  custom-house  in  Boston.  To  compel  1676. 
the  merchants  to  pay  tribute,  he  threatened  to  deprive 
them  of  English  passes  for  their  ships  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean, where,  without  redress,  they  might  be  robbed  by 
pirates  along  the  Barbary  coast  ;  and  he  also  threatened 
to  deprive  them  of  their  trade  with  the  southern  colonies. 
These  threats  had  little  effect  upon  men  who  had  learned 
to  take  care  of  themselves. 

James  II.,  the  brother  and  successor  of  Charles,  was  1685. 
bigoted  and  stubborn  ;  a  Catholic  in  disguise,  he  wished 
to  establish  that  form  of  religion,  not  only  in  England, 
but  in  the  colonies.  The  more  easily  to  accomplish  this 
object  he  professed  to  be  very  tolerant,  and  proclaimed 
what  he  termed  an  Indulgence,  by  which  persecution  for 
religious  opinions  was  henceforth  to  end.  This  tolerance 
was  only  a  means  to  evade  the  laws,  which  prohibited  the 
introduction  of  Komish  ceremonies  and  doctrines  into  the 
Church  of  England.  He  became  a  bitter  persecutor  ;  in 
truth,  to  comprehend  the  idea  of  the  rights  of  conscience 
or  of  religious  freedom,  was  far  beyond  the  capacity  of 
James.  That  time-serving  politician,  Joseph  Dudley,  a 
native  of  Massachusetts,  who,  when  it  was  profitable,  was 
a  zealous  advocate  of  colonial  rights,  now  became  an  ear- 
nest  defender  of  the  prerogative  of  the  king.  He  was 
appointed  the  royal  president  of  Massachusetts,  until  a 
governor  should  arrive.  There  could  be  no  free  press 
under  a  Stuart,  and  Edward  Kandolph  was  appointed  its 
censor.  Kandolph  disliked  the  people  of  Massachusetts 
as  cordially  as  they  hated  him.  The  commission  of  Dud- 
ley contained  no  recognition  of  an  Assembly  or  Kepresent- 
atives  of  the  people.  James  was  at  a  loss  to  see  the  use 
of  a  legislature  to  make  laws,  when  his  wisdom  could  be 
appealed  to  for  that  purpose.  Dudley,  looked  upon  as 
the  betrayer  of  his  country's  liberties,  was,  very  unpopu- 
12 


178  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED  STATES. 

CHAP,   kr,  while  Kandolph  took  pains  to  have  his  character  as 

1  little  respected  at  court,  by  representing  him  as  having 

1686.    "  his  fortune  to  make/'  and  willing  to  "  cringe  and  bow 
to  any  thing." 

James  had  resolved  to  take  away  the  charters  of  all 
the  colonies  and  make  them  royal  provinces.  Ere  long 
came  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  as  governor  of  all  New  Eng- 
land. A  fit  instrument  of  a  despot,  he  was  authorized 
to  impose  taxes,  to  appoint  his  own  council,  to  have  the 
control  of  the  militia,  to  prohibit  printing,  to  introduce 
Episcopacy,  and  to  enforce  the  laws  restricting  the  trade 
of  the  colonies.  That  he  might  have  the  means  to  fulfil 
his  instructions,  he  brought  two  companies  of  soldiers — the 
first  ever  stationed  in  New  England.  As  a  reward  for  his 
desertion  of  the  people's  rights,  Dudley  was  appointed 
Chief  Justice,  and  the  busy  Eandolph  Colonial  Secretary, 
and  William  Stoughton,  through  the  influence  of  Dudley, 
was  named  one  of  the  council.  Now  followed  a  series  of 
measures  exceedingly  annoying  to  the  people.  Their 
schools  were  left  to  languish.  To  assemble  for  delibera- 
tion on  any  public  matter  was  forbidden ;  but  it  was 
graciously  permitted  them  to  vote  for  their  town  officers. 
The  customs  of  the  country  were  not  respected.  The 
usual  form  of  administering  an  oath  was  that  of  an  appeal 
to  heaven  by  the  uplifted  hand  ;  the  form  now  prescribed 
was  that  of  laying  the  hand  on  the  Bible,  which  the  Pu- 
ritans thought  idolatrous, — a  relic  of  popery.  Exorbitant 
fees  were  extorted  ;  those  who  held  lands  were  told  their 
titles  were  not  valid,  because  they  were  obtained  under  a 
charter  which  was  now  declared  to  be  forfeited  ;  and  when 
an  Indian  deed  was  presented,  it  was  decided  to  be  "  worth 
no  more  than  the  scratch  of  a  bear's  paw."  No  person 
could  leave  the  colony  without  a  pass  from  the  governor. 
No  magistrate  nor  minister — who  was  deemed  merely  a 
layman — could  unite  persons  in  marriage.  The  Episcopal 
clergyman  at  Boston  was  the  only  person  in  all  New  Eng- 


ANDROS   AT   HARTFORD.  179 

land  authorized  to  perform  that  ceremony.     Episcopacy   CHAP. 
was  now  fully  introduced,  and  the  people  required  to  fur-  _  1 
nish  funds  to  build  a  church  for  its  service.     A  tax  of  the    1686. 
same  amount  was  levied  upon  each  person,  poor  or  rich  ; 
this  some  of  the  towns  refused  to  pay.    John  Wise,  the  min- 
ister of  Ipswich,  was  bold  to  say  the  tax  was  unjust,  and 
ought  not  to  be  paid.     For  this  he  was  arrested.     When 
he  spoke  of  his  privileges  as  an  "Englishman,  he  was  told 
the  only  privilege  he  could  claim  was  not  to  be  sold  as  a 
slave  ;  with  others,  he  was  fined  heavily.     When  it  was 
said  that  such  proceedings  would  affect  the  prosperity  of 
the  country,  it  was  openly  avowed  that  "  it  was  not  for 
his  majesty's  interest  that   the  country  should   thrive." 
"  No  man  could  say  that  any  thing  was  his  own." 

Andros  now  demanded  of  Ehode  Island  her  charter, 
but  as  she  did  not  send  it,  he  went  to  Providence,  and 
breaking  the  seal  of  the  colony  declared  its  government 
dissolved.  He  then  went  with  an  armed  guard  to  Hart- 
ford,  and  demanded  the  charter  of  the  colony  of  Connec- 
ticut. The  Assembly  was  in  session.  The  members 
received  him  with  outward  respect.  The  discussion  of 
the  subject  was  protracted  till  evening,  and  when  candles 
were  lighted,  the  charter  was  brought  in  and  laid  on  the 
table.  As  the  eager  Andros  reached  forth  his  hand  to 
seize  the  precious  document,  the  lights  were  suddenly  put 
out  ;  when  they  were  relighted,  the  charter  was  gone. 
Captain  William  Wadsworth  had  slipped  it  away  and  hid 
it  in  a  hollow  tree.  Andros,  foiled  and  in  a  rage,  resolved, 
charter  or  no  charter,  the  present  government  should 
cease,  and  taking  the  book  of  records  of  the  Assembly, 
he  wrote  at  the  end  of  the  last  record  the  word  FINIS. 
The  tree  in  which  the  charter  was  hid  stood  for  more  than 
a  century  and  a  half,  and  was  visited  as  an  object  of  his-  1856. 
torical  interest.  It  was  known  as  the  Charter  Oak.  A 
few  years  since  it  was  blown  down  in  a  violent  storm. 
Some  time  before,  a  lady  of  Hartford  gathered  from  it  an 


- 


*$    180  HISTOBY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   acorn,  which  she  planted.   The  good  citizens  of  that  place 
obtained  from  her  the  young  oak,  and  with  appropriate 

1687.  ceremonies  planted  it  on  the  spot  where  stood  the  parent 
^  tree. 

Happily  the  tyranny  of  Andros  was  soon  to  end. 
James,  in  his  zeal  to  promote  the  introduction  of  the 
Catholic  religion,  had  aroused  against  him  the  entire 
English  people.  They  invited  William,  Prince  of  Orange, 
the  husband  of  Mary,  the  eldest  daughter  of  James,  to 
take  possession  of  the  throne.  After  finding  that  his  des- 
potic measures  and  insincerity  had  lost  him  his  kingdom, 
James  fled,  and  the  Prince  of  Orange,  under  the  title  of 
WILLIAM  III.,  ascended  his  vacant  throne. 

1688.  When  the  news  of  that  great  revolution,  which  estab- 
Nov-    lished  the  constitutional  rights  of  the   English   people, 

reached  Boston,  it  excited  the  greatest  joy;  now  they 
could  rid  themselves  of  the  tyrant.  Andros  imprisoned 
the  messenger  for  spreading  false  news.  The  trained 
bands  soon  assembled  in  arms.  The  craven  and  guilty 
governor,  bewildered  with  fear,  fled,  with  his  servile  coun- 
cil, to  a  fort  in  the  town.  The  aged  Simon  Bradstreet, 
now  more  than  fourscore,  who  was  one  of  the  original  emi- 
grants, and  had  been  a  magistrate,  was  urged  to  assume 
the  office  of  governor. 

A  declaration,  said  to  have  been  written  by  Cotton 
Mather,  was  published,  maintaining  the  rights  of  the  peo- 
ple, in  which  they  commit  the  enterprise  to  "  Him  who 
hears  the  cry  of  the  oppressed."  Andros,  in  the  mean 
time,  made  an  effort  to  escape  ;  but  he  and  Dudley,  with 
the  troublesome  Eandolph,  were  speedily  lodged  in  jail. 
Many  were  clamorous  for  their  punishment,  but  generous 
forbearance  prevailed,  and  they  were  sent  to  England  for 
trial. 

Connecticut,  paying  little  respect  to  the  "  Finis  "  of 
Andros,  now;  brought  forth  her  charter  from  its  hidden 
place,  and  resumed  her  former  government.  Plymouth 


§jg    2| 

THE    MEN   OF   INFLUENCE.  181 

resumed  tlie   constitution   framed   on    board    the  May-   CHAP. 

Flower,  and  Khode  Island  her  charter.     The  people  of   1 

Massachusetts  voted  almost  unanimously  to  resume  theirs,    1688. 
but  a  moderate  party,  consisting  of  the  former  magistrates, 
and  some  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  chose  rather  to 
defer  it  for  the  present  ;  as  they  hoped  to  obtain  one 
from  William,  more  in  accordance  with  their  own  views. 

The  patriarchs  who  laid  the  foundation  of  the  New 
England  colonies  had  nearly  all  passed  away  ;  their  places 
were  filled  by  those  who  had  not  experienced  the  trials  of 
their  fathers,  but  had  learned  of  them  by  tradition.  The 
Puritans  lived  in  serious  times — times  that  made  rugged 
Christians  as  well  as  rugged  soldiers.  They  may  have 
lacked  the  gentler  graces  that  adorn  those  living  almost 
two  centuries  later,  and  enjoying  greater  privileges,  when 
the  combined  influence  of  Christianity,  science,  and  refine- 
ment have  produced  a  more  perfect  effect.  They  consci- 
entiously filled  their  sphere  of  duty  in  the  age  in  which 
they  lived,  and  we  honor  their  memories. 

The  influence  of  their  ministers  was  the  influence  of 
mind  upon  mind,  enhanced  by  that  implicit  trust  reposed 
in  moral  worth.  They  were  peculiarly  the  educated  class ; 
the  people  looked  up  to  them  as  their  spiritual  instructors. 
They  were  the  friends  of  education,  and  wished  to  elevate 
the  children  of  their  flocks  by  cultivating  their  minds, 
and  training  them  for  usefulness  in  the  world ; — what 
higher  position  for  his  children  could  the  Puritan  desire  ? 
In  process  of  time,  New  England  became  more  inviting 
to  men  of  education  belonging  to  the  professions  of  law 
and  medicine.  In  some  respects,  the  great  influence  of 
the  ministers  gradually  diminished,  not  because  of  dere- 
liction of  duty  on  their  part,  but  because,  in  temporal 
affairs,  especially,  the  management  passed,  by  degrees, 
into  the  hands  of  other  men  of  influence. 


CHAPTEK   XVIII. 

COMMOTION  IN  NEW  YORK.— WITCHCRAFT  IN  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Leisler  acting  Governor  of  New  York. — The  Old  Council  refuses  to  yield. — 
Captain  Ingoldsby. — Sloughter  Governor. — Bitterness  of  Parties. — Trial 
and  Execution  of  Leisler  and  Milbourne. — Death  of  Sloughter. — Fletcher 
Governor  ;  he  goes  to  Connecticut. — Yale  College. — The  Triumph  of  a 
Free  Press. — Witchcraft;  belief  in. — Cotton  Mather. — The  Goodwin 
Children. — Various  Persons  accused  at  Salem. — Special  Court. — Parris 
as  Accuser,  and  Stoughton  as  Judge. — Minister  Burroughs. — Calef  s 
Pamphlet. — Revulsion  in  Public  Sentiment. — Mather's  stand  in  favor 
of  Inoculation. 

CHAP.  DIFFICULTIES  with,  royal  governors  were  by  no  means  con- 
^  fined  to  New  England.     The  people  of  New  York  were 

1690.  also  in  commotion,  though  not  so  much  united,  as  the 
Dutch  had  not  yet  cordially  associated  in  feeling  with  the 
English, 

James  had  appointed  a  Catholic  receiver  of  customs  ; 
this  annoyed  the  Protestants,  and  Nicholson  the  governor 

1689.  was  exceedingly  unpopular.  The  military  companies  went 
jne  in  a  body  to  Jacob  Leisler,  a  respectable  and  generous- 
hearted  merchant,  and  their  senior  captain,  and  urged 
him  to  take  possession  of  the  fort  and  to  assume  the  man- 
agement of  affairs.  He  consented.  Leisler,  a  Presbyterian 
and  a  Dutchman,  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange.  The  fort  and  public  money  were  taken, 
and  the  companies  pledged  themselves  to  hold  the  fort 
"  for  the  present  Protestant  power  that  rules  in  England." 
Leisler  was  to  act  as  commander-in-chief  until  orders 
came  from  King  William,  to  whom  a  letter  was  sent  giv- 


*** 


LEISLER    ACTING    GOVERNOR.  183 

ing  an  account  of  the  seizure  of  the  fort  and  also  of  the  CHAP. 

money,  which  was  to  be  expended  in  building  another  at  1 

the  lower  part  of  the  island,  to  defend  the  harbor.  1689. 

As  a  large  majority  of  the  people  were  in  favor  of 
Leisler  and  of  the  proceedings  of  the  militia,  Nicholson, 
the  governor,  thought  best  to  carry  his  complaints  to 
England.  The  members  of  his  council,  claiming  to  be 
the  true  rulers  of  the  province,  went  to  Albany,  and  de-  Aug. 
nounced  Leisler  as  a  "  rebel." 

He  appointed  Milbourne,  his  son-in-law,  secretary. 
Afterward  the  people  at  Albany,  alarmed  on  account  of 
an  expected  attack  from  Canada,  asked  aid  from  New 
York  ;  Milbourne  was  promptly  sent  with  a  body  of  men 
to  their  assistance.  But  the  members  of  the  old  council 
refused  to  acknowledge  his  authority,  or  to  give  him  the 
command  of  the  fort.  To  avoid  bloodshed  he  returned, 
leaving  them  to  fight  the  French  as  they  could.  In  their 
extremity,  the  Albanians  obtained  assistance  from  Con- 
necticut. Presently  came  a  royal  letter,  directed  to  Dec. 
"  such  as  for  the  time  being  administer  affairs."  It  con- 
tained a  commission  for  Nicholson  as  governor.  As  the 
latter  was  on  his  way  to  England,  Leisler  injudiciously 
proclaimed  himself  governor  by  virtue  of  the  letter,  and 
still  more  imprudently  ordered  the  members  of  the  refrac- 
tory council  at  Albany  to  be  arrested.  Meantime  an  As- 
sembly was  called  to  provide  for  the  wants  of  the  province. 

The  letter  sent  to  the  king  remained  unanswered,  but 
suddenly  an  English  ship  came  into  the  harbor,  having  on 


board  a  Captain  Ingoldsby,  and  a  company  of  soldiers  Jan- 
sent  by  Colonel  Henry  Sloughter,  who  had  been  appointed 
governor.  Encouraged  by  the  party  opposed  to  Leisler, 
Ingoldsby  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  fort.  He  was 
asked  his  authority  ;  as  he  had  none  to  show,  the  fort 
was  not  given  up.  Six  weeks  elapsed  before  Sloughter 
made  his  appearance  ;  meanwhile,  a  collision  took  place 
between  the  soldiers  and  some  of  the  people,  and  blood 


184 


CHAP, 


1691. 


16 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

was  shed.  The  bitterest  party  spirit  prevailed  ;  the  ene- 
mies  of  Leisler  resolved  on  revenge  ;  and  when  he  came 
forward  to  resign  his  trust  to  the  regularly  appointed  gov- 
ernor, he  was  arrested,  and  with  Milbourne  taken  to  prison. 
The  charge  against  them  was  the  convenient  one  of  trea- 
son ;  their  enemies  knew  that  they  were  as  loyal  as 
themselves,  but  it  answered  their  purpose.  Immediately 
a  special  court  was  called  to  try  the  prisoners.  They  de- 
nied the  right  of  a  court  thus  constituted  to  try  them, 
and  refused  to  plead,  but  appealed  to  the  king.  They 
were,  however,  condemned,  and  sentenced  to  death  by  the 
degenerate  Dudley,  who,  driven  away  by  the  indignant 
people  of  Massachusetts,  now  appeared  as  Chief  Justice 
of  New  York. 

Sloughter  was  unwilling  to  order  their  execution,  and 
he  determined  to  leave  the  matter  to  the  king.  But  their 
blood,  and  it  alone,  could  satisfy  the  intense  hatred  of 
their  enemies.  To  accomplish  their  end  they  took  advan- 
tage of  one  of  the  numerous  failings  of  the  governor. 
They  gave  him  a  dinner-party  ;  when  overcome  by  a  free 
indulgence  in  wine,  they  induced  him  to  sign  the  death- 
warrant  of  the  unfortunate  men.  About  daylight  the 
next  morning,  lest  Sloughter  should  recover  from  his  stu- 
por and  recall  the  warrant,  Leisler  and  Milbourne  were 
hurried  from  their  weeping  families  to  the  gallows.  It 
was  whispered  abroad,  and  although  the  rain  poured  in 
torrents,  the  sympathizing  people  hastened  in  multitudes 
to  the  place  of  execution.  Said  Milbourne,  when  he  saw 
in  the  crowd  one  of  their  enemies,  "  Kobert  Livingston, 
I  will  implead  thee  for  this  at  the  bar  of  G-od."  The  last 
words  of  Leisler  were  :  "  Weep  not  for  us,  who  are  depart- 
ing to  our  God."  Said  Milbourne,  "  I  die  for  the  king 
and  queen,  and  for  the  Protestant  religion  ;  Father,  into 
thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit."  When  the  execution 
was  over,  the  people  rushed  forward  to  obtain  some  me* 
morial  of  their  friends  —  a  lock  of  hair,  or  a  piece  of  their 


BENJAMIN  FLETCHER  AT  HARTFORD.  185  Jfc, 

clothing.     This  judicial  murder  increased  the  bitterness   CHAP. 

of  party  animosity.     The  friends  of  the  victims  were  the  , '. 

advocates  of  popular  rights,  in  opposition  to  the  royalists.  1691. 
All  that  could  be  was  done  in  time  to  remedy  the  wrong. 
Their  estates  were  restored  to  their  families,  and  Parlia- 
ment reversed  the  attainder  under  the  charge  of  treason. 
Dudley  even  opposed  this  act  of  justice.  Three  months 
after  this  tragedy,  delirium  tremens  ended  the  life  of  the 
weak  and  dissolute  Sloughter.  It  was  about  this  time 
that  the  "  ancient  Dutch  usages  "  gave  place  to  the  com- 
plete introduction  of  English  laws. 

A  year  had  elapsed,  when  Benjamin  Fletcher  came  as  1692. 
successor  to  Sloughter.  He  was  a  military  officer,  arbi- 
trary and  avaricious.  His  sympathies  were  with  the  ene- 
mies of  Leisler.  As  New  York  was  on  the  frontiers  of  1693. 
Canada,  all  the  colonies  were  expected  to  contribute  to 
her  defence.  To  make  this  more  effective,  an  effort  was 
made  to  put  the  militia  of  New  Jersey  and  Connecticut, 
as  well  as  that  of  New  York,  under  the  command  of 
Fletcher.  Accordingly,  he  went  into  Connecticut  to  en- 
force his  authority.  To  give  the  command  of  their  militia 
to  the  governor  of  another  colony,  was  to  sacrifice  the 
rights  of  the  people  under  the  charter.  The  Assembly 
was  in  session  at  Hartford,  and  the  militia  engaged  in 
training  when  Fletcher  arrived.  He  had  boasted  that  he 
"  would  not  set  foot  out  of  the  colony  until  he  was  obeyed." 
When  the  militia  were  drawn  up,  he  ordered  his  secretary 
to  read  in  their  hearing  his  commission.  When  he  com- 
menced to  read,  the  drummers  began  to  beat.  "  Silence," 
commanded  Fletcher.  For  a  moment  there  was  silence, 
and  the  reading  was  renewed.  "  Drum  !  drum  ! "  ordered 
Wadsworth,  the  same  who,  some  years  before,  hid  the 
charter.  Fletcher  once  more  ordered  silence.  The  sturdy 
captain,  stepping  up  to  him,  significantly  remarked,  "  If 
I  am  interrupted  again  I  will  make  daylight  shine  through 
you."  Fletcher  thought  it  best  to  overlook  the  insult, 

* 


186  HISTOBY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


w. 


CHAP,   and  return    to    New  York,  without    accomplishing   his 

threat. 

1693.  More  than  half  a  century  before,  the  Eev.  John 
Davenport  proposed  to  found  a  college  in  the  colony  of 
Connecticut,  but  as  Harvard  would  be  affected  by  the 
establishment  of  a  similar  institution,  the  project  was 
postponed.  Now,  the  ministers  of  the  colony  met  at 
Branford,  where  each  one  laid  upon  the  table  his  gift  of 
books,  accompanied  by  the  declaration,  "I  give  these 
books  for  the  founding  a  college  in  this  colony."  Forty 
volumes  were  thus  contributed.  How  little  did  these  good 
men,  as  they  made  their  humble  offerings,  anticipate  the 
importance  and  influence  of  the  college  of  which  they 
thus  laid  the  foundation. 

The  following  year  the  General  Court  granted  a  char- 
ter. The  professed  object  of  the  college  was  to  promote 
theological  studies  in  particular,  but  afterward  so  modified 
as  to  admit  of  "instructing  youth  in  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences, who  may  be  fitted  for  public  employments,  both  in 
church  and  civil  state."  For  sixteen  years,  its  sessions 
were  held  at  different  places  ;  then  it'  was  permanently 

located  at  New  Haven.     A   native  of  the  town,  Elihu 

7 


Yale,  who  had  acquired  wealth  in  the  East  Indies,  became 
its  benefactor,  and  in  return  he  has  been  immortalized  in 
its  name. 

For  forty  years  succeeding  the  rule  of  Fletcher  the 
annals  of  New  York  are  comparatively  barren  of  incident ; 
during  that  time  the  province  enjoyed  the  doubtful  privi- 
lege of  having  ten  governors,  nearly  all  of  whom  took 
special  care  of  their  own  interests  and  those  of  their 
friends.  The  last  of  this  number  was  the  "  violent  and 
mercenary  "  William  Cosby,  who  complained  to  the  Board 
of  Trade  that  he  could  not  manage  the  "  delegates "  to 
the  Assembly ; — "  the  example  of  Boston  people  "  had  so 
much  infected  them. 

The  city  of  New  York,  at  this  time,  contained  nearly 

P  .......      * 


^^"  «t 

* 


\  j-t... 

THE   LIBERTY    OF   THE   PRESS.  187 


nine  thousand  inhabitants,.    The  Weekly  Journal,  a  paper  CHAP. 

recently  established    by  John    Peter    Zenger,  contained  \ 

articles  condemning  the  arbitrary  acts  of  the  governor  1732. 
and  Assembly,  in  imposing  illegal  taxes.  This  was  the 
first  time  in  the  colonies  the  newspapers  had  dared  to 
criticize  political  measures.  This  new  enemy  of  arbitrary 
power  must  be  crushed.  Governor  Cosby,  with  the  appro- 
bation of  the  council,  ordered  the  paper  to  be  burned  by 
the  sheriff,  imprisoned  the  editor,  and  prosecuted  him  for 
libel.  Zenger  employed  as  counsel  two  lawyers,  and  they 
denied  the  authority  of  the  court,  because  of  the  illegal 
appointment  of  the  Chief  Justice,  Delancy,  by  Cosby, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Council.  For  presenting  this 
objection  their  names  were  promptly  struck  from  the  roll 
of  practitioners.  This  high-handed  measure  intimidated 
the  other  lawyers,  and  deterred  them  from  acting  as  coun- 
sel for  the  fearless  editor.  1733. 

On  the  day  of  trial  a  venerable  man,  a  stranger  to 
nearly  all  present,  took  his  seat  at  the  bar.  The  trial 
commenced,  and  much  to  the  surprise  of  the  court,  the 
stranger  announced  himself  as  counsel  for  the  defendant. 
It  was  Andrew  Hamilton,  the  famous  Quaker  lawyer  of 
Philadelphia,  and  speaker  of  the  Assembly  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Hamilton  proposed  to  prove  the  truth  of  the 
alleged  libel,  but  Delancy,  the  judge,  in  accordance  with 
English  precedents,  refused  to  admit  the  plea.  Then 
Hamilton  with  great  force  appealed  to  the  personal 
knowledge  of  the  jury  ; — the  statements  in  the  paper 
were  notoriously  true.  He  showed  that  the  cause  was  not 
limited  to  this  editor  alone  ;  a  principle  was  involved, 
that  affected  the  liberty  of  speech  and  a  free  press  through- 
out the  colonies. 

In  spite  of  the  charge  of  the  judge  to  the  contrary, 
the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  acquittal,  which  was 
received  with  rapturous  shouts  by  the  people.  Thus,  for 
the  first  time,  had  the  press  assumed  to  discuss,  and  even 


1 


*"  V 

'   ••^-J'  v-^ 

188  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

^ 

CHAP,    condemn  political  measures,  and  its  liberty  to  do  so  was 

amply  vindicated.    Popular  sentiment  manifested  its  grat- 

1733.  itude  to  the  successful  advocate,  and  the  corporation  of 
New  York  conferred  upon  him  the  freedom  of  the  city. 

1681.  We  have  now  to  relate  the  story  of  that  sad  delusion 
so  identified  with  the  early  history  of  the  quiet  and  re- 
spectable town  of  Salem,  in  Massachusetts.  The  belief 
in  witchcraft  appears  to  have  been  almost  universal  in 
the  age  of  which  we  write.  As  Christians  were  in  cove- 
nant with  God,  so,  it  was  believed,  witches  were  in  cove- 
nant with  the  devil ;  that  he  gave  them  power  to  torment 
those  whom  they  hated,  by  .pinching  them,  pricking  them 
with  invisible  pins,  pulling  their  hair,  causing  their  cattle 
and  chickens  to  die,  upsetting  their  carts,  and  by  many 
other  annoyances,  equally  undignified  and  disagreeable. 
As  Christians  had  a  sacrament  or  communion,  witches 
had  a  communion,  also, 'at  which  the  devil  himself  offici- 
ated in  the  form  of  a  "  small  black  man."  He  had  a  book 
in  which  his  disciples  signed  their  names,  after  which  they 
renounced  their  Christian  baptism,  and  were  rebaptized, 
or  "  dipped  "  by  himself.  To  their  places  of  meeting  the 
witches  usually  rode  through  the  air  on  broomsticks. 

This  delusion,  absurd  as  it  seems  to  us,  was  in  that 
age  believed  by  learned  and  good  men,  such  as  Sir  Matthew 
Hale,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England  ;  Eichard  Baxter, 
author  of  the  "  Saints'  Kest ; "  and  Dr.  Isaac  Watts, 
whose  devotional  "Psalms  and  Hymns"  are  so  familiar 
to  the  religious  world.  For  this  supposed  crime  many 
had,  at  different  times,  been  executed  in  Sweden,  Eng- 
land, France,  and  other  countries  of  Europe.  Before  the 
excitement  at  Salem,  a  few  cases  in  the  colony  of  Massa- 

fchusetts  had  been  punished  with  death. 
•J      ^  As  the  Bible  made  mention  of  witcfts  and  sorcerers, — 

to  disbelieve  in  their   existence  was   counted   infidelity. 
To  disprove  such  infidelity,  Increase  Mather,  a  celebrated 


W. 


« 


COTTON    MATHEB.  189 


_ 

clergyman  of  New  England3  published  an  account  of  the   CHAP. 

cases  that  had  occurred  there,  and  also  a  description  of  '_ 

the  manner  in  which  the  bewitched  persons  were  afflicted.  1684. 
After  this  publication,  the  first  case  that  excited  general 
interest  was  that  of  a  girl  named  Goodwin.  -She  had  ac- 
cused the  daughter  of  an  Irish  washerwoman  of  stealing 
some  article  of  clothing.  The  enraged  mother  disproved 
the  charge,  and  in  addition  reproved  the  false  accuser  se- 
verely. Soon  after,  this  girl  became  strangely  affected  ;  1688- 
her  younger  brother  and  sister  imitated  her  "contortions 
and  twistings."  These  children  were  sometimes  dumb, 
then  deaf,  then  blind  ;  at  one  time  they  would  bark  like 
dogs,  at  another  mew  like  cats.  A  physician  was  called 
in,  who  gravely  decided  that  they  were  bewitched,  as  thdy 
had  many  of  the  symptoms  described  in  Mather's  book. 
The  ministers  became  deeply  interested  in  the  subject, 
and  five  of  them  held/a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  at  the 
house  of  the  Goodwins,  when  lo  1  the  youngest  child,  a 
boy  of  five  years  of  age,  was  delivered  !  As  the  children 
asserted  that  they  were  bewitched  by  the  Irish  washer- 
woman, she  was  arrested.  The  poor  creature  was  fright- 
ened out  of  her  senses,  if  she  had  any,  for  many  thought 
she  was  "  crazed  in  her  intellectuals."  She  was,  how- 
ever, tried,  convicted  and  hanged. 

There  was  at  this  time  at  Boston  a  young  clergyman, 
an  indefatigable  student,  remarkable  for  his  memory  and 
for  the  immense  amount  of  verbal  knowledge  he  possessed  ; 

*he  was  withal  somewhat  vain  and  credulous,  and  exceed- 

j 

ingly  fond  of  the  marvellous  ;  no  theory  seems   to  have  t  jk   * 

been  more  deeply  rooted  in  his  mind  than  a  belief  in  witch- 
craft. Such  was  Cotton  Mather,  son  of  Increase  Mather. 
He  became  deeply  interested  in  the  case  of  the  Goodwin 
children,  and  began  to  study  the  subject  with  renewed 
zeal ;  to  do  so  tn*e  more  perfectly,  he  took  the  girl  to  his 
home.  She  was  cunning,  and  soon  discovered  the  weak 
points  of  his  character.  She  told  him  he  was  under  a 


i* 

,  .    in 


190  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

**»  *  '^« 

CHAP,    special  protection ;  that  devils,  though  they  tried  hard, 

!  could  not  enter  his  study  ;  that   they  could  not  strike 

1688.  him  ;  the  blows  were  warded  off  by  an  invisible,  friendly 
hand.  When  he  prayed,  or  read  the  Bible,  she  would  be 
thrown  into  convulsions  ;  while  at  the  same  time,  she 
read  with  zest  Popish  or  Quaker  books,  or  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer.  Mather  uttered  prayers  in  a  variety 
of  languages  to  ascertain  if  these  wicked  spirits  were 
learned.  He  discovered  that  they  were  skilled  in  Latin, 
Greek,  and  Hebrew,  but  deficient  in  some  Indian  tongues. 
He  sincerely  believed  all  this,  and  wrote  a  book,  "  a  story 
all  made  up  of  wonders,"  to  prove  the  truth  of  witch- 
craft ;  and  gave  out  that,  hereafter,  if  any  one  should 
deny  its  existence,  he  should  consider  it  a  personal  insult. 
Mather's  book  was  republished  in  London,  with  an  ap- 
proving preface  written  by  Kichard  Baxter.  This  book 
had  its  influence  upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  sad  scenes  which  followed. 

About  four  years  after  the  cases  just  mentioned,  two 
young  girls,  one  the  niece  and  the  other  the  daughter  of 
Samuel  Parris,  the  minister  at  Salem  village,  now  Dan- 
vers,  began  to  exhibit  the  usual  signs  of  being  bewitched. 
They  seem  to  have  done  this  at  first  merely  for  mischief, 
as  they  accused  no  one  until  compelled. 
1692.  Between  Parris  and  some  of  the  members  of  his  con- 
gregation there  existed  much  ill-feeling.  Now  was  the 
time  to  be  revenged  !  And  this  "  beginner  and  procurer 
of  the  sore  affliction  to  Salem  village  and  country,"  in- 
mL  4  sisted  that  his  niece  should  tell  who  it  was  that  bewitched 

her,  for  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  to  "  deliver  "  them,  the 
children  continued  to  practise  their  pranks.  The  niece  at 
length  accused  Eebecca  Nurse,  a  woman  of  exemplary  and 
Christian  life  ;  but  one  with  whom  Parris  was  at  variance. 
At  his  instigation  she  was  hurried  off  to  jail.  The  next 
Sabbath  he  announced  as  his  text  these  words  :  "  Have  I 
not  chosen  you  twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a  devil  ?  "  Imme- 


1 


TRIAL    OF   WITCHES   AT    SALEM.  191 

diately  Sarah  Cloyce,  a  sister  of  the  accused,  arose  and  left  CHAP. 

the  church, — in  those  days,  no  small  offence.    She  too  was  1 

accused  and  sent  to  prison.     The  excitement  spread,  and    1692. 
in  a  few  weeks  nearly  a  hundred  were  accused  and  re- 
manded for  trial.  * 

After  the  people  had  driven  off  Andros,  Bradstreet 
had  still  continued  to  act  as  governor.  A  new  charter  1591. 
was  given,  under  which  the  governor  was  to  be  appointed 
by  the  crown.  Sir  William  Phipps,  a  native  of  New 
England,  "an  illiterate  man,  of  violent  temper,  with 
more  of  energy  than  ability,"  was  the  first  governor,  and 
William  Stoughton  the  deputy-governor.  These  both 
obtained  their  offices  through  the  influence  of  Increase 
Mather,  who  was  then  in  England,  acting  as  agent  for  the 
colony.  Stoughton  had  been  the  friend  of  Andros,  and  a 
member  of  his  council,  and,  like  Dudley,  was  looked  upon 
by  the  people  as  their  enemy.  Of  a  proud  and  unforgiv- 
ing temper,  devoid  of  humane  feelings,  he  was  self-willed 
and  selfish.  The  people  in  a  recent  election  had  slighted 
him  ;  they  scarcely  gave  him  a  vote  for  the  office  of 
judge  ;  this  deeply  wounded  his  pride.  In  his  opinions, 
as  to  spirits  and  witches,  he  was  an  implicit  follower  of 
Cotton  Mather,  of  whose  church  he  was  a  member. 

The  new  governor,  bringing  with  him  the  new  charter, 
arrived  at  Boston  on  the  fourteenth  of  May.     The  General    1692. 
Court  alone  had  authority  to  appoint  Special  Courts  ;  but    ^y 
the  governor's  first  official  act  was  to  appoint  one  to  try 
the  witches  confined  in  prison  at  Salem.     The  triumph 
of  Mather  was  complete  ;  he  rejoiced  that  the  warfare  »  £ 

with  the  spirits  of  darkness  was  now  to  be  carried  on  vig- 
orously, and  he  "  prayed  for  a  good  issue." 

The  illegal  court  met,  and  Parris  acted  as  prosecutor, 
producing  some  witnesses  and  keeping  back  others.  The 
prisoners  were  made  to  stand  with  their  arms  extended, 
lest  they  should  torment  their  victims.  The  glance  of  the 
witch's  eye  was  terrible  to  the  "  afflicted  ;  "  for  its  evil 


f  ' 

I 

*        *' 

192  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   influence  there  was  but  one  remedy  ;  the  touch  of   the 
accused  could  alone  remove  the  charm.    Abigail  Williams, 


1692.  the  niece  of  Parris,  was  told  to  touch  one  of  the  prisoners  ; 
she  made  the  attempt,  but  desisted,  screaming  out,  "  My 
fingers,  they  burn,  they  burn  !  "  She  was  an  adept  in 
testifying  ;  she  had  been  asked  to  sign  the  devil's  book  by 
the  spectre  of  one  of  the  accused  women,  ancl  she  had 
also  been  permitted  to  see  a  witch's  sacrament.  All  this 
was  accepted  by  the  court  as  true  and  proper  evidence. 
If  a  witness  contradicted  himself,  it  was  explained  by  as- 
suming that  the  evil  spirit  had  imposed  upon  his  brain. 
A  farmer  had  a  servant,  who  suddenly  became  bewitched  ; 
his  master  whipped  him,  and  thus  exorcised  the  devil, 
and  had  the  rashness  to  say  that  he  could  cure  any  of 
"  the  afflicted  "  by  the  same  process.  For  thife  he  soon 
found  himself  and  wife  in  prison.  Eemarks  made  by  the 
prisoners  were  often  construed  to  their  disadvantage. 
George  Burroughs,  once  a  minister  at  Salem,  and  of  whom 
it  is  said  Parris  was  envious,  had  expressed  his  disbelief  in 
witchcraft,  and  pronounced  the  whole  affair  a  delusion. 
For  this  he  was  arrested  as  a  wizard.  On  his  trial  the 
witnesses  pretended  to  be  dumb.  "  Why,"  asked  the 
stern  Stoughton  of  the  prisoner,  "  are  these  witnesses 
dumb?"  Burroughs  believed  they  were  perjuring  them- 
selves, and  promptly  answered,  "  The  devil  is  in  them,  I 
suppose."  "  Ah  !  ah  !  "  said  the  exulting  judge  ;  "  how 
is  it  that  he  is  so  loath  to  have  any  testimony  borne  against 
you  ?  "  This  decided  the  case  ;  Burroughs  was  condemned... 
From  the  scaffold  he  made  an  address  to  the  people,  and 
put  his  enemies  to  shame.  He  did  what  it  was  believed 
f  no  witch  could  do  ;  he  repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer  dis- 
tinctly and  perfectly.  The  crowd  was  strongly  impressed 
in  his  favor  ;  many  believed  him  innocent,  and  many 
were  moved  even  to  tears,  and  some  seemed  disposed  to 
rescue  him  ;  but  Cotton  Mather  appeared  on  horseback, 
and  harangued  the  crowd,  maintaining  that  Burroughs 

•* 

•flpp.  * ,  . 

••  •*»•         »m 

*  * 


KEVULSION   IN   PUBLIC    OPINION.  193 

was  not  a  true  minister,  that  he  had  not  been  ordained,  CHAP. 

that  the  fair  show  he  made  was  no  proof  of  his  innocence,  1 

for  Satan  himself  sometimes  appeared  as  an  angel  of  light.    1692. 

Many  of  the  accused  confessed  they  were  witches,  and 
by  that  means  purchased  their  lives  :  and  some,  to  make 
their  own  safety  doubly  sure,  accused  others  :  thus  the 
delusion  continued.  Then,  again,  others  who  had  con- 
fessed, repented  that  they  had  acknowledged  themselves  to 
be  what  they  were  not,  denied  their  confession,  and  died 
with  the  rest.  The  accusations  were  at  first  made  against 
those  in  the,  humbler  walks  of  life  ;  now  others  were  ac- 
cused. Hale,  the  minister  at  Beverly,  was  a  believer  in 
witchcraft,  till  his  own  wife  was  accused  ;  then  he  was 
convinced  it  was  all  a  delusion. 

Some  months  elapsed  before  the  General  Court  held 
its  regular  session  ;  in  the  mean  time  twenty  persons  had 
fallen  victims,  and  fifty  more  were  in  prison  with  the  same 
fate  hanging  over  them.  Now  a  great  revulsion  took 
place  in  public  opinion.  This  was  brought  about  by  a 
citizen  of  Boston,  Kobert  Calef,  who  wrote  a  pamphlet, 
first  circulated  in  manuscript.  He  exposed  the  manner 
in  which  the  trials  had  been  conducted,  as  well  as  proved 
the  absurdity  of  witchcraft  itself.  Qotton  Mather,  in  his 
reply,  sneered  at  Calef  as  "a  weaver  who  pretended  to 
be  a  merchant/'  Calef,  not  intimidated  by  this  abuse, 
continued  to  write  with  great  effect,  and  presently  the  v*"' 
book  was  published  in  London.  Increase  Mather,  the 
President  of  Harvard  College,  to  avenge  his  son,  had  the 
"  weaver's  "  book  publicly  burned  in  the  college  yard. 

In  the  first  case  brought  before  the  court,  the  jury 
promptly  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not  guilty.  When  news 
came  to  Salem  of  the  reprieve  of  those  under  sentence, 
the  fanatical  Stoughton,  in  a  rage,  left  the  bench,  ex- 
claiming, "  Who  it  is  that  obstructs  the  course  of  justice 
I  know  not  ;  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  the  country."  Jan 

Not  long  after,  the  indignant  inhabitants  of  Salem    169< 


*  * 


194  HISTOKY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


CHAP,  drove  Parris  from  their  village.  Many  of  those  who  had 
_  !  participated  in  the  delusion,  and  given  their  influence  in 
1693.  favor  of  extreme  measures,  deeply  repented  and  publicly 
asked  forgiveness  of  their  fellow-citizens.  But  Cotton 
Mather  expressed  no  regret  for  the  part  he  had  taken,  or 
the  influence  he  exerted  in  increasing  the  delusion  ;  his 
vanity  never  would  admit  that  he  could  possibly  have 
been  in  error.  Instead  of  being  humbled  on  account  of 
the  sorrows  he  had  brought  upon  innocent  persons,  he  la- 
bored to  convince  the  world  that,  after  all,  he  had  not 
been  so  very  active  in  promoting  the  delusion.  Stoughton 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  the  same  cold,  proud, 
and  heartless  man  ;  nor  did  he  ever  manifest  the  least 
sorrow,  that  on  such  trifling  and  contradictory  evidence, 
he  had  sentenced  to  death  some  of  the  best  of  men  and 
women. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  record  that,  thirty  years  after  this 
melancholy  delusion,  Cotton  Mather  with  fearless  energy 
mjp,  advocated  the  use  of  inoculation  for  the  prevention  of 
1Y21.  small-pox.  He  had  learned  that  it  was  successful  in  Tur- 
key, in  arresting  or  modifying  that  terrible  disease,  and 
he  persuaded  Dr.  Boylston  to  make  the  experiment.  Ma- 
ther stood  firm,  amid  the  clamors  of  the  ignorant  mob,  who 
even  threw  a  lighted  grenade  filled  with  combustibles  into 
his  house,  and  paraded  the  streets  of  Boston,  with  halters 
in  their  hands,  threatening  to  hang  the  inoculators.  The 
majorit/'of  the  physicians  opposed  inoculation  on  theo- 
logical grounds,  contending,  "  it  was  presumptuous  for 
men  to  inflict  disease  on  man,  that  being  the  prerogative 
of  the  Most  High."  "  It  was  denounced  as  an  infusion  of 
malignity  into  the  blood  ;  a  species  of  poisoning  ;  an  at- 
tempt to  thwart  God,  who  had  sent  the  small-pox  as  a 
punishment  for  sins,  and  whose  vengeance  would  thus  be 
only  provoked  the  more."  Nearly  all  the  ministers  were 
in  favor  of  the  system,  and  they  replied  with  arguments 
drawn  from  medical  science.  An  embittered  war  of  pam- 

I 


I 


INOCULATION  IN   BOSTON.  195 


phlets  ensued.    The  town  authorities  took  decided  ground  CHAP. 

against  the  innovation,  while  the  General  Court  passed  '_ 

a  bill  prohibiting  the  practice,   but  the  Council  wisely  1T21. 
refused  to  give  it  their  sanction.     At  length  science  and 
common  sense  prevailed,  and  the  inoculists  completely 
triumphed. 


•*• 

"-.-•:  A 


CHAPTEK    XIX. 

MISSIONS   AND   SETTLEMENTS   IN  NEW  FRANCE. 

The  Emigrants  few  in  dumber.— The  Jesuits ;  their  zeal  as  Teachers  and 
Explorers. — Missions  among  the  Hurons. — Ahasistari. — The  Five  Na- 
tions, or  Iroquois. — Father  Jogues. — The  Abenakis ;  Dreuilettes. — The 
Dangers  of  the  Missions. — French  Settlers  at  Oswego. — James  Mar- 
quette. — The  Mississippi. — La  Salle ;  his  Enterprise ;  his  Failure  and 
tragical  End. 

CHAP.  WE  have  already  given  an    account  of  the  discoveries 

IX'    made  in  New  France,  and  the  settlements  founded  under 

1634.    ^ne  direction  of  Samuel  Champlain.     We  now  intend  to 

trace  the  history  of  these  settlements  and  missions,  from 

that  period  till  the  time  when  the  Lilies  of  France  were 

supplanted  by  the  Banner  of  St.  George. 

The  climate  offered  but  few  inducements  to  cultiva- 
tors of  the  soil,  and  emigrants  came  but  slowly ;  they 
established  trading  houses,  rather  than  agricultural  settle- 
ments. To  accumulate  wealth  their  main  resource  was 
in  the  peltries  of  the  wilderness,  and  these  could  be  ob- 
tained only  from  the  Indians,  who  roamed  over  the  vast 
regions  west  and  north  of  the  lakes. 

A  partial  knowledge  of  the  country  had  been  obtained 
from  a  priest,  Father  Le  Caron,  the  friend  and  companion 
of  Champlain.  He  had,  by  groping  through  the  woods, 
and  paddling  over  the  waters  his  birch-bark  canoe,  pene- 
|00t  trated  far  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  explored  the  south  shore 
of  Lake  Ontario,  and  even  found  his  way  to  Lake  Huron. 

Ik 


ft 


THE   JESUITS.  197 

Three  years  before  the   death  of  Champlain,  Louis  CHAP. 

XIII.  gave  a  charter  to  a  company,  granting  them  the  L 

control  of  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  all  its  trib-  1634. 
utaries.  An  interest  was  felt  for  the  poor  savages,  and  it 
was  resolved  to  convert  them  to  the  religion  of  Kome  ; — 
not  only  convert  them,  but  make  them  the  allies  of 
France.  Worldly  policy  had  as  much  influence  as  reli- 
gious zeal.  It  was  plain,  the  only  way  to  found  a  French 
empire  in  the  New  World,  was  by  making  the  native 
tribes  subjects,  and  not  by  transplanting  Frenchmen. 

The  missions  to  the  Indians  were  transferred  to  the 
supervision  of  the  Jesuits.  This  order  of  priests  was 
founded  expressly  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the 
Keformation  under  Luther.  As  the  Keformers  favored  1534. 
education  and  the  diffusion  of  general  intelligence,  so  the 
Jesuit  became  the  advocate  of  education — provided  it  was 
under  his  own  control.  He  resolved  to  rule  the  world  by 
influencing  its  rulers  ;  he  would  govern  by  intellectual 
power  and  the  force  of  opinion,  rather  than  by  supersti- 
tious fears.  He  endeavored  to  turn  the  principles  of  the 
Reformation  against  itself.  His  vows  enjoined  upon  him 
perfect  obedience  to  the  will  of  his  superior, — to  go  on 
any  mission  to  which  he  might  be  ordered.  No  clime  so 
deadly  that  he  would  not  brave  its  danger  ;  no  people  so 
savage  that  he  would  not  attempt  their  conversion. 

With  their  usual  energy  and  zeal,  the  Jesuits  began 
to  explore  the  wilds  of  New  France,  and  to  bring  its 
wilder  inhabitants  under  the  influence  of  the  Catholic 
faith.  To  the  convert  was  offered  the  privileges  of  a 
subject  of  France.  From  this  sprang  a  social  equality, 
friendly  relations  were  established,  and  intermarriages  took 
place  between  the  traders  and  the  Indian  women. 

Companies  of  Hurons,  who  dwelt  on  the  shores  of  the 
lake  which  bears  their  name,  were  on  a  trading  expedition 
to  Quebec.  On  their  return  home  the  Jesuits  Brebeuf 
and  Daniel  accompanied  them.  They  went  up  the  Ot- 


198  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


NITED    S 


CHAP,  tawa  till  they  came  to  its  largest  western  branch,  thence 

L  to  its  head  waters,  and  thence  across  the  wilderness  to 

1634.  their  villages  on  Georgian  bay  and  Lake  Simcoe.  The  faith 
and  zeal  of  these  two  men  sustained  them  during  their 
toilsome  journey  of  nine  hundred  miles,  and  though  their 
feet  were  lacerated  and  their  garments  torn,  they  rejoiced 
in  their  sufferings.  Here  in  a  grove  they  built,  with  their 
own  hands,  a  little  chapel,  in  which  they  celebrated  the 
ceremonies  of  their  church.  The  Ked  Man  came  to  hear 
the  morning  and  evening  prayers  ;  though  in  a  language 
which  he  could  not  understand,  they  seemed  to  him  to  be 
addressed  to  the  p-reat  Spirit,  whom  he  himself  wor- 
shipped. Six  missions  were  soon  established  in  the  villages 
around  these  lakes  and  bays.  Father  Brebeuf  spent  four 
hours  of  every  morning  in  private  prayer  and  self-flagel- 
lations, the  rest  of  the  day  in  catechizing  and  teaching. 
Sometimes  he  would  go  out  into  the  village,  and  as  he 
passed  along  would  ring  'his  little  bell  and  thus  invite  the 
grave  warriors  to  a  conference,  on  the  mysteries  of  his 
religion/  Thus  he  labored  for  fifteen  years. 

These  teachings  had  an  influence  on  the  susceptible 
heart  of  the  great  Huron  chief  Ahasistari.  He  professed 
himself  a  convert  and  was  baptized.  Often  as  he  escaped 
uninjured  from  the  perils  of  battle,  he  thought  some  pow- 
erful spirit  watched  over  him,  and  now  he  believed  that 
the  Grod  whom  the  white  man  worshipped  was  that  guar- 
dian spirit.  In  the  first  flush  of  his  zeal  he  exclaimed  : 
"  Let  us  strive  to  make  all  men  Christians/' 

Thousands  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  forest 
listened  to  instruction,  and  the  story  of  their  willingness 
to  hear,  when  told  in  France,  excited  a  new  interest.  The 
king  and  queen  and  nobles  vied  with  each  other  in  mani- 
festing their  regard  by  giving  encouragement  and  aid  to 
the  missionaries,  and  by  presents  to  the  converts.  A  col- 
lege,  to  educate  men  for  these  missions,  was  founded  at 
Quebec,  two  years  before  the  founding  of  Harvard.  Two 


*>  ...     '  * 


THE   FIVE   NATIONS.  199 

years  afterward  the  Ursuline   convent   was  founded  at   CHAP. 

Montreal  for  the    education  of  Indian   girls,  and   three  '_ 

young  nuns  came  from  France  to  devote  themselves  to    1635. 
that  labor.     They  were  received  with  demonstrations  of 
joy  by  the  Hurons  and  Algonquins.     Montreal  was  now 
chosen  as  a  more  desirable  centre  for  missionary  operations. 

The  tribes  most  intelligent  and  powerful,  most  war- 
like and  cruel,  with  whom  the  colonists  came  in  contact, 
were  the  Mohawks,  or  Iroquois,  as  the  French  named 
them.  They  were  a  confederacy  consisting  of  five  nations, 
the  Senecas,  the  Oneidas,  the  Onondagas,  the  Cayugas, 
and  the  Mohawks — better  known  to  the  English  by  the 
latter  name.  This  confederacy  had  been  formed  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  counsels  of  a  great  and  wise  chief,  1539. 
Hiawatha.  Their  traditions  tell  of  him  as  having  been 
specially  guided  by  the  Great  Spirit,  and  that  amid  strains 
of  unearthly  music,  he  ascended  to  heaven  in  a  snow- 
white  canoe.  JThey  inhabited  that  beautiful  and  fertile 
region  in  Central  New  York,  where  we  find  the  lakes  and 
rivers  still  bearing  their  names. 

Their  territory  lay  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Ontario, 
and  extended  to  the  head-waters  of  the  streams  which 
flow  into  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  bays,  and  also  to 
the  sources  of  the  Ohio.  These  streams  they  used  as 
highways  in  their  war  incursions.  They  pushed  their  con- 
quests up  the  lakes  and  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
northward  almost  to  the  frozen  regions  around  Hudson's 
bay.  They  professed  to  hold  many  of  the  tribes  of  New 
England  as  tributary,  and  extended  their  influence  to  the 
extreme  east.  They  made  incursions  down  the  Ohio 
against  the  Shawnees,  whom  they  drove  to  the  Carolinas. 
They  exercised  dominion  over  the  Illinois  and  the  Miamis. 
They  were  the  inveterate  enemies  of  the  Hurons,  and  a 
terror  to  the  French  settlements — especially  were  they 
hostile  to  the  missions.  In  vain  the  Jesuits  strove  to 
teach  them  ;  French  influence  could  never  penetrate 


200  HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,   south  of   Ontario.     The   Mohawks   closely  watched  the 

1  passes  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  intercourse  between 

1635.  the  missionaries  stationed  on  the  distant  lakes  and  their 
head-quarters  at  Montreal  was  interrupted,  unless  they 
travelled  the  toilsome  route  by  the  Ottawa  and  the  wil- 
derness beyond. 

1642.  An  expedition  from  the  lakes  had  slipped  through  to 
Quebec,  and  now  it  endeavored  to  return.  As  the  fleet 
approached  the  narrows,  suddenly  the  Mohawks  attacked 
it  ;  most  of  the  Frenchmen  and  Hurons  made  for  the  op- 
posite shore.  Some  were  taken  prisoners,  among  whom 
was  Father  Jogues.  The  noble  Ahasistari,  from  his 
hiding-place,  saw  his  teacher  was  a  prisoner ;  he  knew 
that  he  would  be  tortured  to  death,  and  he  hastened  to 
>  him  :  "  My  brother/'  said  he,  "  I  made  oath  to  thee,  that 

I  would  share  thy  fortune,  whether  death  or  life  ;  here  I 
am  to  keep  my  vow."  He  received  absolution  at  the 
hands  of  Jogues,  and  met  death  at  the  stake  in  a  manner 
becoming  a  great  warrior  and  a  faithful  convert. 

Father  Jogues  was  taken  from  place  to  place  ;  in  each 
village  he  was  tortured  and  compelled  to  run  the  gauntlet. 
His  fellow-priest,  Goupil,  was  seen  to  make  the  sign  of 
the  cross  on  the  forehead  of  an  infant,  as  he  secretly  bap- 
tized it.  The  Indians  thought  it  a  charm  to  kill  their 
children,  and  instantly  a  tomahawk  was  buried  in  the 
poor  priest's  head.  The  Dutch  made  great  efforts,  but 
in  vain,  to  ransom  Jogues,  but  after  some  months  of  cap- 
tivity he  made  his  escape  to  Fort  Orange,  where  he  was 
gladly  received  and  treated  with  great  kindness  by  the 
Dominie  Megapolensis.  Jogues  went  to  France,  but  in  a 
few  years  he  was  again  among  his  tormentors  as  a  messen- 
ger of  the  gospel ;  ere  long  a  blow  from  a  savage  ended 
his  life.  A  similar  fate  was  experienced  by  others.  Father 
Bressani  was  driven  from  hamlet  to  hamlet,  sometimes 
^^  scourged  by  all  the  inhabitants,  and  tortured  in  every  pos- 


,„ 


IAN   MISSIONS.  201 


sible  form  which  savage  ingenuity  could  invent, — yet  he   CHAP. 
survived,  and  was  at  last  ransomed  by  the  Dutch.  L 

The  Abenakis  of  Maine  sent  messengers  to  Montreal  1642. 
asking  missionaries.  They  were  granted,  and  Father 
Dreuilettes  made  his  way  across  the  wilderness  to  the 
Penobscot,  and  a  few  miles  above  its  mouth  established  a 
mission.  The  Indians  came  to  him  in  great  numbers. 
He  became  as  one  of  themselves,  he  hunted,  he  fished,  he 
taught  among  them,  and  won  their  confidence.  He  gave 
a  favorable  report  of  the  place,  and  the  disposition  of  the 
tribes,  and  a  permanent  Jesuit  mission  was  there  estab- 
lished. On  one  occasion  Father  Dreuilettes  visited  the 
Apostle  Eliot  at  Eoxbury.  The  noble  and  benevolent 
work  in  which  they  were  engaged,  served  in  the  minds  of 
these  good  men  to  soften  the  asperities  existing  between 
the  Catholic  and  the  Puritan,  and  they  bid  each  other 
God  speed. 

At  this  time  there  were  sixty  or  seventy  devoted  mis-  1646. 
sionaries  among  the  tribes  extending  from  Lake  Superior 
to  Nova  Scotia.  But  they  did  not  elevate  the  character 
of  the  Indian  ;  he  never  learned  to  till  the  soil,  nor  to 
dwell  in  a  fixed  abode  ;  he  was  still  a  rover  in  the  wide, 
free  forest,  living  by  the  chase.  The  Abenakis,  like  the 
Hurons,  were  willing  to  receive  religious  instructions  ;  they 
learned  to  chant  matins  and  vespers,  they  loved  those 
who  taught  them.  It  is  frot  for  us  to  say  how  many  of 
them  received  into  their  hearts  a  new  faith. 

The  continued  incursions  of  the  ferocious  Mohawks 
kept  these  missions  in  peril.  Suddenly  one  morning  they 
attacked  the  mission  of  St.  'Joseph  on  Lake  Simcoe, 
founded,  as  we  have  seen,  by  Brebeuf  and  Daniel.  The 
time  chosen  was  when  the  warriors  were  on  a  hunting  ex- 
cursion, and  the  helpless  old  men,  women,  and  children 
fell  victims  to  savage  treachery.  The  aged  priest  Daniel, 
at  the  first  war-cry,  hastened  to  give  absolution  to  all  the  1648. 
converts  he  could  reach,  and  then  calmly  advanced  from 


202  HISTOEY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,    the  chapel  in  the  face  of  the  murderers.     He  fell  pierced 
L  with  many  arrows.     These  marauding  expeditions  broke 


1648.  up  nearly  all  the  missions  in  Upper  Canada.  The  Hu- 
rons  were  scattered,  and  their  country  became  a  hunting- 
ground  for  their  inveterate  enemies. 

Many  of  the  Huron  converts  were  taken  prisoners  and 
adopted  into  the  tribes  of  the  Five  Nations.     Some  years 

1661.  after,  when  a  treaty  was  made  between  those  nations  and 
the  French,  the  presence  of  these  converts  excited  hopes 
that  they  would  receive  Jesuit  teachers. ,,  A  mission  was 
established  among  the  Onondagas,  and  Oswego,  their  prin- 
cipal village,  was  chosen  for  the  station.  In  a  year  or 
two  missionaries  were  laboring  among  the  other  tribes  of 
the  confederacy.  But  the  French,  who  had  an  eye  to  se- 
curing that  fertile  region,  sent  fifty  colonists,  who  began 
a  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Oswego.  The  jealousy 
of  the  Indians  was  excited  ;  they  compelled  the  colonists 
to  leave  their  country,  and  with  them  drove  away  the 
missionaries.  Thus  ended  the  attempts  of  the  French  to 
possess  the  soil  of  New  York. 

The  zeal  of  the  Jesuits  was  not  diminished  by  these 

" 

untoward  misfortunes ;  they  still  continued  to  prosecute 
their  labors  among  the  tribes  who  would  receive  them. 
Away  beyond  Lake  Superior  one  of  their  number  lost  his 
way  in  the  woods  and  perished,  and  the  wild  Sioux  kept 
his  cassock  as  an  amulet.  Into  that  same  region  the  un- 
daunted Father  Allouez  penetrated  ;  there,  at  the  largest 
town  of  the  Chippewas,  he  found  a  council  of  the  chiefs 
of  many  different  tribes.  They  were  debating  whether 
they  should  take  up  arms  against  the  powerful  and  war- 
like Sioux.  He  exhorted  them  to  peace,  and  urged  them 
1666.  ^0  Jom  in  alliance  with  the  French  against  the  Iroquois  ; 
he  also  promised  them  trade,  and  the  protection  of  the 
great  king  of  the  French.  Then  he  heard  for  the  first 
time  of  the  land  of  the  Illinois,  where  there  were  no  trees, 
but  vast  plains  covered  with  long  grass,  on  which  grazed 


JAMES   MARQUETTE.  203 

innumerable  herds  of  buffalo  and  deer.     He  heard  of  the  CHAP. 

wild  rice,  and  of  the  fertile   lands  which  produced  an  L 

abundance  of  maize,  and  of  regions  where  copper  was  ob-  1669. 
tained, — the  mines  so  famous  in  our  own  day.  He  learned, 
too,  of  the  great  river  yet  farther  west,  which  flowed 
toward  the  south,  whither,  his  informants  could  not  tell. 
After  a  sojourn  of  two  years  Allouez  returned  to  Quebec, 
to  implore  aid  in  establishing  missions  in  that  hopeful 
field.  He  stayed  only  to  make  known  his  request ;  in  two 
days,  he  was  on  his  way  back  to  his  field  of  labor,  accom- 
panied by  only  one  companion. 

The  next  year  came  from  France  another  company  of 
priests,  among  whom  was  James  Marquette,  who  repaired 
immediately  to  the  missions  on  the  distant  lakes.  Ac- 
companied by  a  priest  named  Joliet,  and  five  French 
boatmen,  with  some  Indians  as  guides  and  interpreters, 
Marquette  set  out  to  find  the  great  river,  of  which  he  had 
heard  so  much.  The  company  passed  up  the  Fox  river 
in  two  birch-bark  canoes  ;  they  carried  them  across  the 
portage  to  the  banks  of  the  Wisconsin,  down  which  they 
floated,  till  at  length  their  eyes  were  gratified  by  the  sight 
of  the  "  Father  of  Waters."  16ro. 

They  coast  along  its  shores,  lined  with  primeval  for-  '  • 

ests,  swarming  with  all  kinds  of  game  ;  the  prairies  redo- 
lent with  wild  flowers  ; — all  around  them  is  a  waste  of 
grandeur  and  of  beauty.  After  floating  one  hundred  and 
eighty  miles  they  meet  with  signs  of  human  beings.  They 
land,  and  find,  a  few  miles  distant,  an  Indian  village  ;  here 
they  are  welcomed  by  a  people  who  speak  the  language 


of  their  guides.  They  are  told  that  the  great  river  ex- 
tends to  the  far  south,  where  the  heat  is  deadly,  and  that 
the  great  monsters  of  the  river  destroy  both  men  and 
canoes. 

Nothing  daunted  they  pass  on,  and  ere  long  they  reach 
the  place  where  the  turbid  and  rapid  Missouri  plunges 
into  the  tranquil  and  clear  Mississippi.  "  When  I  return," 


204  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,    says  Marquette,  "  I  will  ascend  that  river  and  pass  beyond 

1  its  head-waters  and  proclaim  the  gospel."     Further  on 

1670.  they  see  a  stream  flowing  from  the  north-east ; — it  is  the 
Ohio,  of  which  the  Iroquois  have  told  them.  We  can 
imagine  Marquette,  noticing  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
looking  with  awe  upon  the  dark  and  impenetrable  forests, 
and  hoping  that  in  future  ages  these  shores  would  be  the 
homes  of  many  millions  of  civilized  and  Christian  men. 
&  As  they  went  on  they  approached  a  warmer  climate  ; 
and  now  they  were  sure  that  the  great  river  flowed  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  not  into  that  of  California,  as 
had  been  supposed.  They  met  with  Indians  who  showed 
them  tools  of  European  manufacture ;  obtained  either 
from  the  English  of  Virginia  or  from  the  Spaniards  fur- 
ther south.  It  was  deemed  prudent  to  return,  as  they 
might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  latter,  and  thus  be  de- 
prived of  the  privilege  of  making  known  their  discovery. 
At  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  they  began  the  toilsome 
labor  of  paddling  their  canoes  up  the  stream  down  which 
they  had  so  easily  floated.  They  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Illinois  ;  thinking  it  would-  lead  them  to  the  lakes,  they 
passed  up  that  river  to  its  head-waters,  and  thence  across 
to  Lake  Michigan. 

Joliet  immediately  set  out  tct  carry  the  news  of  the 
discovery  to  Quebec.  Marquette  was  desirous  to  begin 
his  work,  and  he  chose  to  remain  in  the  humble  station  of 
a  missionary  in  the  wilderness.  One  day  he  retired  to  his 
private  devotions,  at  a  simple  altar  he  had  erected  in  a 
grove.  An  hour  afterward  he  was  found  kneeling  beside 
it ;  his  prayers  and  his  labors  for  the  good  of  the  poor  In- 
dian were  ended  ;— in  that  hour  of  quiet  retirement  his 
spirit  had  passed  away. 

Among  the  adventurers  who  came  to  Canada  to  seek 
their  fortunes,  was  Eobert  Cavalier  de  la  Salle,  a  young 
man  who  had  been  educated  as  a  Jesuit,  but  had  re- 
nounced the  order.  A  large  domain  at  the  outlet  of  Lake 


ENTERPRISE   OF   LA   SALLE — LOUISIANA.  205 

"* 

Ontario  was  granted  him  on  condition  that  he  would  main-   CHAP. 

tain  Fort  Frontenac,  now  Kingston.    But  his  main  object  L 

was  to  obtain  the  entire  trade  of  the  Iroquois.  The  news  16T5. 
of  the  discovery  of  the  great  river  inflamed  his  ardent  mind 
with  a  desire  to  make  settlements  on  its  banks,  and  thus 
secure  its  vast  valley  for  his  king.  Leaving  his  lands  and 
his  herds,  he  sailed  for  France,  and  there  obtained  a  favora- 
ble  grant  of  privileges.  He  returned,  passed  up  to  Lake 
Erie,  at  the  foot  of  which  he  built  a  vessel  of  sixty  tons,  in 
which,  with  a  company  of  sailors,  hunters,  and  priests,  he 
passed  through  the  straits  to  the  upper  lakes,  and  an- 
chored in  Green  Bay.  There,  lading  his  ship  with  a  cargo 
of  precious  furs,  he  sent  her  to  Niagara,  with  orders  to  Aug. 
return  as  soon  as  possible  with  supplies.  Meanwhile  he 
passed  over  into  the  valley  of  the  Illinois,  and  on  a  bluff 
by  the  river  side,  near  where  Peoria  now  stands,  built  a 
fort,  and  waited  for  his  ship  ;  but  he  waited  in  vain ;  she 
was  wrecked  on  the  voyage. 

After  three  years  of  toils,  wanderings  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  voyages  to  France,  during  which  he  experienced 
disappointments  that  would  have  broken  the  spirit  of  an 
ordinary  man,  we  find  him,  once  more  on  the  banks  of  the 
Illinois.  Now  he  built  a  barge,  on  board  of  which,  with  1682.  ?  's^4 
his  companions,  he  floated  down  to  the  Mississippi,  and  APnl 
thence  to  the  Gulf.  Thus  were  his  hopes,  after  so  much 
toil  and  sacrifice,  realized.  He  had  triumphantly  traced 
the  mighty  stream  to  its  mouth.  He  remained  only  to 
take  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign, 
Louis  XIV.,  in  honor  of  whom  he  named  it  LOUISIANA. 

La  Salle  returned  to  Quebec,  and  immediately  sailed 
for  France.  He  desired  to  carry  into  effect  his  great  de- 
sign of  planting  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi. 
The  enterprise  was  looked  upon  with  favor  by  both  the 
French  people  and  the  king.  He  was  furnished  with  an 
armed  frigate  and  three  other  vessels,  and  two  hundred  1684. 
and  eighty  persons  to  form  a  colony.  One  hundred  of 


206  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  these  were  soldiers  ;  of  the  remainder,  some  were  volun- 
]_  teers,  some  mechanics,  and  some  priests.     Unfortunately, 

1684.  the  command  of  the  ships  was  given  to  Beaujeu,  a  man 
as  ignorant  as  he  was  self-willed  and  conceited.     After 
surmounting  many  difficulties,  they  entered  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  but    missed  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.     La 

1685.  Sallesoon  discovered  the  error,  but  the  stubborn  Beaujeu, 
Feb'    deaf  to  reason,  sailed  on  directly  west,  till  fortunately  ar- 
rested by  the  eastern  shore  of  Texas.     La  Salle  deter- 
mined to  disembark  and  seek  by  land  the  mouth  of  the 
great  river.     The  careless  pilot  ran  the  store-ship  on  the 
breakers  ;  suddenly  a  storm  arose,  and  very  little  was  saved 
of  the  abundance  which  Louis  had  provided  for  the  enter- 
prise.    It  is  said  that  he  gave  more  to  aid  this  one  colony 
than  the  English  sovereigns  combined  gave  to  all  theirs  in 
North  America. 

As  the  ships  were  about  to  leave  them  on  that  desolate 
shore,  many  became  discouraged,  and  returned  home. 
The  waters  in  the  vicinity  abounded  in  fish,  and  the  for- 
ests in  game,  and  with  a  mild  climate  and  productive  soil, 
there  was  no  danger  from  starvation.  A  fort  was  built  in 
a  suitable  place  ;  the  trees  of  a  grove  three  miles  distant 
furnished  the  material,  which  they  dragged  across  the 
prairie.  La  Salle  explored  the  surrounding  country,  but 
sought  in  vain  for  the  Mississippi.  On  his  return  to  the 
fort,  he  was  grieved  to  find  his  colony  reduced  to  forty  per- 
sons, and  they  disheartened  and  mutinous.  He  did  not 
despair ;  he  would  yet  accomplish  the  darling  object  of  his 
*  ambition  ;  he  would  thread  his  way  through  the  wilder- 
ness to  Canada,  and  induce  colonists  to  join  him.  With 
1687.  a  company  of  sixteen  men  he  commenced  the  journey ; 
they  travelled  two  months  across  the  prairies  west  of  the 
Mississippi ;  but  the  hopes  that  had  cheered  his  heart 
amidst  hardships  and  disappointments  were  never  to  be 
realized.  Two  of  his  men,  watching  their  opportunity, 
murdered  him.  Thus  perished  Eobert  Cavalier  de  la 


DEATH    OF   LA   SALLE.  207 


Salle,  assassinated  in  the  wilderness  by  his  own  country- 
men.  He  was  the  first  to  fully  appreciate  the  importance 
of  securing  to  France  the  two  great  valleys  of  this  conti-  1687. 
nent.  His  name  will  ever  be  associated  with  his  unsuc- 
cessful enterprise,  and  his  tragical  fate  will  ever  excite  a 
feeling  of  sympathy.  Ketribution  was  not  long  delayed  ; 
his  murderers,  grasping  at  spoils,  became  involved  in  a 
quarrel  with  their  companions,  and  both  perished  by  the 
hand  of  violence. 

The  remainder  of  the  company  came  upon  a  tributary 
of  the  Mississippi,  down  which  they  passed  to  its  mouth, 
where  their  eyes  were  greeted  by  a  cross,  and  the  arms  of 
France  engraved  upon  a  tree.  This  had  been  done  by 
Tonti,  a  friend  of  La  Salle,  who  had  descended  from  the 
Illinois,  but  in  despair  of  seeing  him  had  returned.  The 
colony  of  Texas  perished  without  leaving  a  memento  of  its 
existence. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

MARAUDING  EXPEDITIONS ;  SETTLEMENT  OF  LOUISIANA ;  CAPTURE 
OF  LOUISBURG. 

Mohawks  hostile  to  the  French. — Dover  attacked  ;  Major  "Waldron. — Sche- 
nectady  captured  and  burned. — The  inhuman  Frontenac. — The  Colonists 
act  for  themselves.-:-Invasion  of  Canada. — Settlements  in  Maine  aban- 
doned.— Heroism  of  Hannah  Dustin. — Deerfield  taken ;  Eunice  Wil- 
liams.— D'Ibberville  plants  a  Colony  on  the  Pascagoula. — Trading  Posts 
on  the  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi. — The  Choctaws ;  the  Natchez  ;  at- 
tempts to  subdue  the  Chickasaws. — King  George's  War. — Capture  of 
Louisburg. — The  English  Ministry  alarmed. — Jonathan  Edwards. — The 
•  "  Great  Revival." — Princeton  College. 

CHAP.   PEACE  had  continued  for  some  time  between  the  Five  Na- 

xx 
L  tions  and  the  French,  but  now  the  former  were  suspicious 

1685.  of  the  expeditions  of  La  Salle.  James  II.  had  instructed 
Dongan,  the  Catholic  governor  of  New  York,  to  conciliate 
the  French,  to  influence  the  Mohawks  to  receive  Jesuit 
missionaries,  and  to  quietly  introduce  the  Catholic  religion 
into  the  colony.  But  Dongan  felt  more  interest  in  the 
fur  trade,  which  the  French  seemed  to  be  monopolizing, 
than  in  Jesuit  missions  among  the  Mohawks,  and  he 
rather  encouraged  the  latter  in  their  hostility.  An  act  of 
treachery  increased  this  feeling.  Some  of  their  chiefs, 
who  were  enticed  to  enter  Fort  Frontenac,  were  seized  and 
forcibly  carried  to  France,  and  there  made  slaves. 

'  When  the  indignant  people  of  England   drove   the 
bigoted   James  from  his  throne  and  invited  William  of 

1688.  Orange  to  fill  it,  Louis  XIV.  took  up  the  quarrel  in  behalf 
of  James,  or  of  legitimacy,  as  he  termed  it.  He  believed 


V 

DOVER  BURNED MAJOR  WALDRON.  209 

in  the  divine  right  of  kings  td*  rule,  and  denied  the  right   CHAP. 

of  a  people  to  change  their  form  of  government.     Louis  

had  for  years  greatly  abused  his  power,  and  all  Europe  had    1688. 
suffered  from  his  rapacity.     Eeligious  feeling  exerted  its 
influence  in  giving  character  to  the  war,  and  Protestant 
Holland  joined  heart  and  hand  with  Protestant  England 
in  opposing  Catholic  France. 

Though  the  colonies  were  thus  involved  in  war  by  the 
mother  countries,  they  had  different  ends  in  view.  The 
New  Englanders  had  an  eye  to  the  fisheries  and  the  pro- 
tection of  their  northern  frontiers  ;  the  French  wished  to 
extend  their  influence  over  the  valleys  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  Mississippi,  and  to  monopolize  the  fisheries  as  well 
as  the  fur-trade.  The  latter  object  could  be  obtained  only 
by  the  aid  of  the  Indians,  and  they  were  untiring  in  their 
efforts  to  make  them  friends.  They  could  never  conciliate 
the  Mohawks,  nor  induce  them  to  join  in  an  invasion  of 
New  York.  On  the  contrary,  fifteen  hundred  of  them 
suddenly  appeared  before  Montreal,  and  in  a  few  days  cap- 
tured that  place,  and  committed  horrible  outrages  upon 
the  people. 

Thus  stood  matters  when  Frontenac,  for  the  second  1689. 
time,  appeared  as  governor  of  New  France.  To  make  the 
savages  respect  him  as  a  warrior,  he  set  on  foot  a  series  of 
incursions  against  the  English  colonies.  The  eastern  In- 
dians were  incited  to  attack  Dover  in  New  Hampshire  ; — 
incited  by  the  French,  and  also  by  a  cherished  desire  for 
revenge.  There,  at  the  head  of  the  garrison,  was  that 
Major  Waldron  who,  thirteen  years  before,  during  King 
Philip's  war,  had  treacherously  seized  two  hundred  of 
their  friends,  who  came  to  him  to  treat  of  peace.  He  had 
proposed  to  these  unsuspecting  Indians  a  mock  fight  by 
way  of  entertainment ;  when  their  guns  were  all  discharged 
he  made  them  prisoners  and  sent  them  to  Boston.  Some 
of  them  were  hanged,  and  others  sold  into  slavery.  The 
Indians  in  their  turn  employed  stratagem  and  treachery. 
14 

1 


*  t 

210  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


Two  squaws  caine  to  Dover  ;    they  asked  of  the   aged 
_  Waldron,  now  fourscore,  a  night's  lodging.     In  the  night 

1689.  they  arose,  unbarred  the  gates,  and  let  in  their  friends, 
who  lay  in  ambush.     Their  hour  for  vengeance  had  come  ; 
they  made  the  pangs  of  death  as  bitter  as  possible  to  the 
brave  old  Waldron  ;  his  white  hairs  claimed  from  them  no 

^  pity.  In  derision,  they  placed  him  in  a  chair  on  a  table, 
and  scored  his  body  with  gashes  equal  in  number  to  their 
friends  he  had  betrayed  ;  they  jeeringly  asked  him,  "  Who 
will  judge  Indians  now  ?  Who  will  hang  our  brothers  ? 
Will  the  pale-faced  Waldron  give  us  life  for  life  ?  "  l 
They  burned  all  the  houses,  murdered  nearly  half  the  in- 
habitants, and  carried  the  remainder  into  captivity. 

This  was  only  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  horrors 
inflicted  upon  the  frontier  towns.  The  inhabitants  of 
Schenectady,  as  they  slept  in  fancied  security,  were  star- 
tled at  midnight  by  the  terrible  war-whoop  of  the  savage, 
—  the  harbinger  of  untold  horrors.  The  enemy  found  easy 

1690.  access,  as  the  gates  of  the  palisades   were  open.      The 
Feb.    nouses  were  set  on  fire,  more  than    sixty  persons  were 

killed,  and  many  helpless  women  and  children  were  carried 
into  captivity.  A  few  escaped  and  fled  half  clad  through 
the  snow  to  Albany.  This  attack  was  made  by  a  party 
of  French  and  Indians  from  Montreal,  who  had  toiled  for 
twenty-two  days  through  the  snows  of  winter,  breaking 
Jf  the  track  with  snow-shoes,  and  using,  when  they  could, 
the  frozen  streams  as  a  pathway.  At  Salmon  Falls,  on 
the  Piscataqua,  and  at  Casco,  similar  scenes  were  enacted. 
Such  were  the  means  the  inhuman  Frontenac,  now 
almost  fourscore,  took  to  inspire  terror  in  the  minds  of  the 
English  colonists,  and  to  acquire  the  name  of  a  great  war- 
rior among  the  Indians,  —  they  would  follow  none  but  a 
successful  leader.  Among  the  early  Jesuit  missionaries 
who  taught  the  Indians  of  New  France,  there  were  un- 
*  c  "*  -t  ^' 

JNew  England  History,  C.  W.  Elliott. 


+  * 

EXPEDITIONS   AGAINST   CANADA.  211 

doubtedly  many  good  men.    The  priests  of  that  generation   CHAP. 

had   passed    away,  and   others   had  taken  their  places  ;  '_ 

these  incited  the  recently  converted  savage,  not  to  prac-    1690. 
tise  Christian  charity  and  love,  but  to  pillage  and  murder 
the  heretical  English  colonist. 

King  William  was  busy  in  maintaining  his  own  cause 
in  England,  and  left  the  colonists  to  defend  themselves. 
Massachusetts  proposed  that  they  should  combine,  and  re- 
move the  cause  of  their  trouble  by  conquering  Canada. 
Commissioners  from  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  New 
York  met  to  deliberate  on  what  course  to  pursue.  They 
resolved  to  invade  that  province  from  New  York,  by  way 
of  Lake  Champlain,  and  from  Massachusetts  by  way  of  the 
St.  Lawrence.  The  expedition  from  New  York  failed. 
Colonel  Peter  Schuyler  led  the  advance  with  a  company 
of  Mohawks,  but  the  ever-watchful  Frontenac  was  pre- 
pared ;  his  Indian  allies  flocked  in  crowds  to  aid  him  in 
defending  Montreal.  The  Mohawks  were  repulsed  and 
could  not  recover  their  position,  as  the  army  sent  to  sup- 
port them  was  compelled  to  stop  short ;  the  small-pox 
broke  out  among  the  soldiers,  and  they  were  in  want  of 
provisions. 

Meantime,  the  fleet  of  thirty-two  vessels,  and  two 
thousand  men,  which  had  sailed  from  Boston,  was  endeav- 
oring to  find  its  way  up  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  was  under 
the  command  of  Sir  William  Phipps,  to  whose  incompe-  ^  f 
tency  may  be  attributed  the  failure  of  the  enterprise.  An 
Indian  runner  cut  across  the  woods  from  Piscataqua,  and 
in  twelve  days  brought  the  news  of  the  intended  attack 
to  the  French.  Frontenac  hastened  to  Quebec,  where  he  £ 
arrived  three  days  before  the  fleet.  When  it  came  in 
sight  he  was  prepared  to  make  a  vigorous  defence.  A 
party  landed,  but  after  some  skirmishing  the  enterprise 
was  abandoned.  While  returning,  the  men  suffered  much 
from  sickness,  and  storms  disabled  the  fleet.  The  disap- 
pointment of  the  people  of  Massachusetts  was  very  great ; 


*  >•'• 

212  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   many  lives  had  been  lost,  and  the  colony  was  laden  with 

L  debt. 

1690.          The  Eastern  Indians,  in  the  mean  time,  were  held  in 

check   by  Captain  Church,  celebrated   in  King  Philip's 
^    war.     At  one  time,  he  so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  put  to 

death  his  prisoners,  some  of  whom  were  women  and  chil- 

*  dren.    Such  cruelty  was  inexcusable  ;  and  it  was  avenged 
by  the  savages  with  tenfold  fury.     Nearly  all  the  settle- 
ments of  what  is  now  Maine  were  destroyed  or  abandoned. 
The  enemy  were  continually  prowling  around  the  farms, 
watching  an  opportunity  to  shoot  the  men  at  their  work. 
All  went  armed,  and  even  the  women  learned  to  handle 
effectively  the  musket  and  the  rifle.     It  was  a  great  in- 
ducement for  the  Indians  to  go  on  these  marauding  expe- 
ditions, because  they  could  sell  for  slaves  to  the  French 
of  Canada  the  women  and  children  they  took  prisoners. 

Peace  was  at  length  made  with  the  Abenakis,  or  East- 
'0  ern  Indians,  and  there  was  a  lull  in  the  storm  of  desola- 
tion. It  lasted  but  a  year,  the  Indians  broke  the  treaty. 
They  were  incited  to  this  by  their  teachers,  two  Jesuits, 
Thury  and  Bigot,  who  even  took  pride  in  their  atrocious 
work. 

1694.  Heroic  deeds  were  performed  by  men  and  women.  A 
small  band  of  Indians  attacked  the  house  of  a  farmei 
named  Dustin,  near  Haverhill.  When  in  the  fields  he 
heard  the  war-whoop  and  the  cry  of  distress.  He  hastened 
to  the  rescue,  met  his  children,  and  threw  himself  be- 
tween them  and  their  pursuers,  whom  he  held  at  bay  by 

*  well-directed  shots  till  the   children  were  in  a  place  of 
safety.     His  house  was  burned  ;  a  child  only  a  few  days 
old  was  dashed  against  a  tree,  and  his  wife,  Hannah  Dus- 

v '  tin,  and  her  nurse,  were  carried  away  captive.  A  toilsome 
march  brought  them  to  an  island  in  the  Merrimac,  just 
above  Concord,  where  their  captors  lived.  There  Mrs. 
Dustin,  with  the  nurse  and  a  boy,  also  a  captive,  planned 

an  escape.     She  wished  revenge,  as  well  as  to  be  secure 

• 


DEERFIELD    DESTROYED EUNICE   WILLIAMS.  213 

from  pursuit.  The  Indians,  twelve  in  number,  were  asleep.  CHAP. 

She  arose,  assigned  to  each  of  her  companions  whom  to  L 

strike  ;  their  hands  were  steady  and  their  hearts  firm ;    1694. 
they  struck  for  their  lives.     Ten  Indians  were  killed,  one 
woman  was  wounded,  and  a  child  was  purposely  saved. 
The  heroic  woman  wished  to  preserve  a  trophy  of  the  deed, 
and  she  scalped  the  dead.     Then  in  a  canoe  the  three  * 
floated  down  the  Merrimac  to  Haverhill,  much  to   the 
astonishment  of  their  friends,  who  had  given  them  up  for 
lost.     Such  were  the-  toils  and  sufferings,  and  ^such  the 
heroism  of  the  mothers  in  those  days. 

The  friendly  Mohawks  had  intimated  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Deerfield,  in  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  that 
the  enemy  was  plotting  their  destruction.  The  anxiety 
of  the  people  was  very  great,  and  they  resolved  during  the 
winter  to  keep  a  strict  watch  ;  sentinels  were  placed  every 
night. 

On  an  intensely  cold  night  in  February  a  company  of  1704. 
two  hundred  Frenchmen,  and  one  hundred  and  forty  In- 
dians, lay  in  ambush,  waiting  a  favorable  moment  to 
spring  upon  their  victims.  Under  the  command  of  Hertel 
de  Kouville,  they  had  come  all  the  way  from  Canada,  on 
the  crust  of  a  deep  snow,  with  the  aid  of  snow-shoes.  The 
sentinels,  unconscious  of  danger,  retired  at  dawn  of  day. 
The  snow  had  drifted  as  high  as  the  palisades,  thus  ena- 
bling the  party  to  pass  within  the  inclosure,  which  con-  ,  % 
sisted  of  twenty  acres.  The  terrible  war-cry  startled  the 
inhabitants,  the  houses  were  set  on  fire,  and  forty-seven 
persons  were  ruthlessly  murdered ;  one  hundred  and 
twelve  were  taken  captive,  among  whom  were  the  minister 
Williams,  his  wife,  and  five  children.  No  pen  can  de- 
scribe the  sufferings  of  the  captives  on  that  dreary  winter's 
march,  driven,  as  they  were,  by  relentless  Frenchmen  and 
savages.  Eunice  Williams,  the  wife,  drew  consolation 
from  her  Bible,  which  she  was  permitted  to  read  when 
the  party  stopped  for  the  night.  Her  strength  soon  failed  ; 


I 


214  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  her  husband  cheered  her  by  pointing  her  to  the  "  house 

not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."     "  The 

1704.    mother's  heart  rose  to  her  lips,  as  she  commended  her  five 

captive  children,  under  God,  to  their  father's  care,  and 

then  one  blow  of  the  tomahawk  ended  her  sorrows."     This 

family,  with  the  exception  of  one  daughter,  seven  years  of 

s   age,  were  afterward  ransomed,  and  returned  home. 

Many  years  after  this,  there  appeared  at  Deerfield  a 
white  woman  wearing  the  Indian  garb  ;  she  was  the  lost 
daughter  of  Eunice  Williams,  and  now  a  Catholic,  and 
the  wife  of  an  Indian  chief.  No  entreaties  could  influence 
her  to  remain  with  her  civilized  relatives  ;  she  chose  to  re- 
turn and  end  her  days  with  her  own  children. 

Humanity  shudders  at  the  recital  of  the  horrors  that 
marked  those  days  of  savage  warfare.    Some  of  the  Indians 
even  refused  to  engage  any  more  in  thus  murdering  the 
If-     English  colonists  ;  but  the  infamous  Hertel,  with  the  ap- 
*    probation  of  Vaudreuil,  then  governor  of  Canada,  induced 
a  party  to  accompany  him  on  a  foray.     Why  repeat  the 
story  of  the  fiendish  work,  by  which  the  little  village  of 
Haverhill,  containing  about  thirty  log-cabins,  was  burned, 
and  all  the  inhabitants  either  murdered  or  taken  captive. 
1708.    u  j^y  heart  swellsrwith  indignation,"  wrote  Colonel  Peter 
Schuyler,  of  New  York,  to  Vaudreuil,  "  when  I  think  that 
a  war  between  Christian  princes,  is  degenerating  into  a 
"0  ,   savage  and  a  boundless  butchery  ;  I  hold  it  my  duty  to- 
ward God  and  my  neighbor,  to  prevent,  if  possible,  these 
barbarous  and  heathen  cruelties."      This  reproof  was  un- 
heeded :  the  cruelties  continued. 
*    f  w  ' 

Under  the  feelings  excited  by  such  outrages,  can  we 
think  it  strange  that  the  colonists  resolved  to  hunt  the 
Indians  like  wild  beasts,  and  offered  a  bounty  for  their 
scalps  ?  or  that  the  hostility  against  the  French  Jesuit 
should  have  thrown  suspicion  upon  the  Catholic  of  Mary- 
land, who  about  this  time  was  disfranchised  ?  or  that  even 


•    I 


LEMOINE  D'IBBERVILLE.  215 

in  liberal  Ehode  Island,  he  should  have   been  deprived  CHAP. 
of  the  privilege  of  becoming  a  freeman  ?  

With  renewed  energy  the  French  began  to  press  for-    1708. 
ward  their  great  design  of  uniting,  by  means  of  trading 
posts  and  missions,  the  region  of  the  Lakes  and  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi.     The  Spaniards  had  possession  of  the 
territory  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  ;| 
while  they  claimed  the  entire  regions  lying  around  that 
expanse  of  water. 

The  energetic  mind  of  Lemoine  d'Ibberville  conceived 
a  plan  for  planting  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. He  was  a  native  of  Canada,  and  had,  on  many 
occasions,  distinguished  himself  by  his  talents  and  great 
courage.  Hopes  were  entertained  of  his  success.  The 
expedition,  consisting  of  four  vessels  and  nearly  two  hun- 
dred colonists,  among  whom  were  some  women  and  chil- 
dren, sailed  from  Canada  for  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  1090. 
D'Ibberville  entered  the  Gulf  and  approached  the  north 
shore,  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Pascagoula,  and 
with  two  barges  and  forty-eight  men  went  to  seek  the 
great  river.  He  found  it  by  following  up  a  current  of 
muddy  waters,  in  which  were  many  floating  trees.  He 
passed  up  the  stream  to  the  mouth  of  Red  River,  where 
he  was  surprised  to  receive  a  letter  dated  fourteen  years 
before.  It  was  from  Tonti ;  he  had  left  it  with  the  In- 
dians for  La  Salle  ;  they  had  preserved  it  carefully,  and  %- 
gave  it  to  the  first  Frenchman  who  visited  them. 

As  the  shores  of  the  Mississippi  in  that  region  are 
marshy,  it  was  thought  best  to  form  a  settlement  on  the 
Gulf  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pascagoula.  This  was  the  first 
colony  planted  within  the  limits  of  the  present  State  of 
Mississippi.  D'Ibberville  sailed  for  France  to  obtain  sup- 
plies and  more  colonists,  leaving  one  of  his  brothers,  Sau- 
ville,  to  act  as  governor,  and  the  other,  Bienville,  to 
engage  in  exploring  the  country  and  river. 

Some  fifty  miles  up  the  Mississippi  Bienville  met  an 


216  HISTOBY    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


English  ship  sent  on  the  same  errand.     Seventy  years 
before,  Charles  I.  had  given  to  Sir  Kobert  Heath  a  grant 

1630.  of  Carolina,  which  as  usual  was  to  extend  to  the  Pacific. 
This  worthless  grant  Coxe,  a  London  physician,  had  pur- 
chased, and  to  him  belonged  this  vessel. 
fo  '  From  the  time  of  La  Salle  the  Jesuits  had  been  busy 
ingratiating  themselves  with  the  tribes  along  the  shores  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  under  their  direction  trading  posts 
were  established,  at  various  points,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Illinois,  and  up  that  river  to  the  Lakes. 

1700.  The  following  year  D'lbbervffle  returned  with  two 
ships  and  sixty  colonists,  and  the  aged  Tonti  had  just  ar- 
rived from  the  Illinois.  Availing  himself  of  his  counsel, 
J'  D'Ibberville  ascended  the  river  four  hundred  miles,  and  on 
a  bluff  built  a  fort,  which,  in  honor  of  the  Duchess  of 
Pontchartrain,  was  called  Kosalie.  These  settlements  lan- 
guished for  twenty  years  ;  the  colonists  were  mere  hire- 
lings, unfitted  for  their  work.  The  whole  number  of 
emigrants  for  ten  years  did  not  exceed  two  hundred  per- 
sons. ,  Instead  of  cultivating  the  soil,  and  making  their 
homes  comfortable,  many  went  to  the  far  west  seeking  for 
gold,  and  others  to  the  north-west  on  the  same  errand, 
while  fevers  and  'Other  diseases  were  doing  the  work  of 
death.  Meantime  MOBILE  became  the  centre  of  French 
influence  in  the  south. 

Once  more  a  special  effort  was  made  to  occupy  the 
territory,  and  a  monopoly  of  trade  was  granted  to  Arthur 

1714.  Crozart,  who  was  to  send  every  year  two  ships  laden  with 
merchandise  and  emigrants,  and  also  a  cargo  of  slaves  from 
Africa.  The  French  government  was  to  appropriate  an- 
nually about  ten  thousand  dollars  to  defray  the  expense 
of  forts  and  necessary  protection.  ( 

A  trading  house  was  established  up  the  Ked  Eiver  at 
Natchitoch.es,  and  one  up  the  Alabama  near  the  site  of 
Montgomery  ;  Fort  Eosalie  became  a  centre  of  trade,  and 


? 

m 


FOUNDING  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  217 

the  germ  of  the  present  city  of  NATCHEZ — the  oldest  town  CHAP. 
on  the  Mississippi.  . 

Bienville  put  the  convicts  to  work  on  a  cane-brake  to  1718. 
remove  the  trees  and  shrubs  "  from  a  savage  and  desert 
place/'  and  built  a  few  huts.  Such  were  the  feeble  begin- 
nings of  NEW  ORLEANS,  which  it  was  prophesied  woul 
yet  become  "  a  rich  city,  the  metropolis  of  a  great  colony." 
Still  the  colony  did  not  prosper ;  instead  of  obtaining 
their  supplies  from  that  fruitful  region,  they  were  depend- 
ent on  France  and  St.  Domingo.  Labor  was  irksome  to 
the  convicts  and  vagabonds,  and  the  overflowings  of  the 
river,  and  the  unhealthiness  of  the  climate  retarded  prog- 
ress. The  chief  hope  for  labor  was  based  on  the  impor- 
tation of  negroes  from  Africa. 

^Some  German  settlers,  who,  a  few  years  before,  had 
been  induced  by  one  Law,  a  great  stock-jobbing  and  land 
speculator,  to  emigrate  to  the  banks  of  the  Arkansas,  de- 
cided to  remove.  A  tract  of  land,  lying  twenty  miles 
above  New  Orleans,  known  now  as  the  "  German  coast/' 
was  given  them.  Their  settlement  was  in  contrast  with  1722. 
the  others.  They  were  industrious,  and  cultivated  their 
farms,  raised  vegetables,  rice,  and  other  provisions  ;  also 
tobacco  and  indigo.  The  fig  and  the  orange  were  now 
introduced.  The  Illinois  region  had  been  settled  by  emi- 
grants from  Canada,  who  raised  wheat  and  sent  flour  to 
the  colonists  below.  The  priests  meanwhile  were  not  idle 
in  teaching  the  Indians,  and  a  convent  was  founded  at 
New  Orleans  for  the  education  of  girls.  As  the  colonists 
had  not  energy  enough  to  protect  themselves,  a  thousand 
soldiers  were  sent  from  France  for  that  purpose.  1724. 

The  Choctaws,  the  allies  of  the  French,  occupied  the 
region  between  the  lower  Mississippi  and  the  Alabama. 
The  principal  village  of  the  Natchez  tribe  was  on  the 
bluff  where  now  stands  the  city  of  that  name.  They 
were  not  a  numerous  people,  unlike  the  tribes  among 
whom  they  dwelt,  in  their  language  as  well  as  in  their 


218  HISTOET   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    religion.     Like  the  Peruvians,  they  were  worshippers  of 

L  the  sun,  and  in  their  great,  wigwam  they  kept  an  undying 

1724.  fire.  Their  principal  chief  professed  to  be  a  descendant 
of  the  sun.  They  became  justly  alarmed  at  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  French,  who  having  Fort  Kosalie,  demanded 
the  soil  on  which  stood  their  principal  village,  for  a  farm. 
They  suddenly  fell  upon  the  white  intruders  and  killed 
two  hundred  of  their  number,  and  took  captive  their  women 
and  children.  The  negro  slaves  joined  the  Indians.  Their 
principal  chief,  the  Great  Sun,  had  the  heads  of  the 
French  officers  slain  in  the  battle  arranged  around  him, 
1730.  that  he  might  smoke  his  pipe  in  triumph  ; — his  triumph 
was  short.  A  company,  consisting  of  French  and  Choc- 
%  taws,  under  Le  Suer,  came  up  from  New  Orleans,  and 
surprised  them  while  they  were  yet  celebrating  their  vic- 
tory. The  Great  Sun  and  four  hundred  of  his  people  were 
taken  captive  and  sent  to  St.  Domingo  as  slaves.  Some 
of  the  Natchez  escaped  and  fled  to  the  Chickasaws,  and 
some  fled  beyond  the  Mississippi ;  their  land  passed  into 
the  hand  of  strangers,  and  soon,  they  as  a  people  were 
unknown. 

The  territory  of  the  brave  Chickasaws,  almost  sur- 
rounding that  of  the  Natchez,  extended  north  to  the  Ohio, 
and  east  to  the  land  of  the  Cherokees.  They  were  the 
enemies  of  the  French,  whose  boats,  trading  from  Canada 
and  Illinois  to  New  Orleans,  they  were  accustomed  to 
plunder.  English  traders  from  Carolina  were  careful  to 
increase  this  enmity  toward  their  rivals. 

1735.  Two  expeditions  were  set  on  foot  to  chastise  these  bold 
marauders.  Bienville  came  up  from  the  south  with  a 
fleet  of  boats  and  canoes,  and  a  force  of  twelve  hundred 
Choctaws  ;  he  paddled  up  the  Tombecbee  as  far  as  he 
could,  and  then  hastened  across  the  country  to  surprise 
one  of  their  fortified  places.  D'Artaguette  hastened  down 
from  the  Illinois  country,  of  which  he  was  governor,  with 
fifty  Frenchmen  and  a  thousand  Indians,  to  attack  an- 


* 


EXPEDITION    AGAINST    LOUISBURG.  219 


other  of  their   strongholds.     The   Chickasaws   were   too 
vigilant  to  be  thus  surprised.  ,t   They  repulsed  Bienville, 
dispersed  the  forces  of  D'Artaguette,  took  him  prisoner,    1735. 
and  burned  him  at  the  stake.    Once  more  an  attempt  was    May 
made  with  all  the  force  the  French  could  bring  to  crush 
this  warlike  tribe,  but  in  vain  ;  the  patriotic  Chickasaws      ^ 
successfully  defended  their  country  against  the  foreign  foe.    i^O. 

These  reverses  did  not  deter  the  persevering  French 
from  establishing  trading  houses  south  of  Lake  Erie,  and 
down  the  Alleghany  to  the  Ohio,  and  thence  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi. The  people  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
Virginia  became  alarmed  at  these  encroachments  on  their 
territory.  The  Iroquois  professed  to  have  conquered  all 
the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  and  they  claimed  a  vast  region  to 
the  north-west  as  their  hunting  grounds.  Commissioners 
from  the  above  colonies  met  the  envoys  of  the  Iroquois  at  1745. 
Lancaster,  and  purchased  from  them  for  £400  all  their  July- 
claim  to  the  regions  which  they  professed  to  own  between 
the  Blue  Eidge  and  the  Alleghany  mountains. 

The  colonies  had  enjoyed  nearly  thirty  years  of  com- 
parative freedom  from  French  and  Indian  incursions,  when 
they  were  involved  in  what  is  known  as  King  George's    ^^_ 
War. 

The  first  intimation  of  hostilities  was  an  attack  upon 
the  fort  at  Canso,  in  which  the  garrison  was  captured  and 
carried  to  Louisburg.  Louisburg  was  the  great  strong- 
hold of  the  French  on  this  continent  ;  the  centre  from 
which  privateering  expeditions  were  fitted  out,  that  had 
nearly  destroyed  the  commerce  as  well  as  the  fisheries  of 
New  England.  To  prevent  these  depredations,  and  the 
inroads  to  which  the  French  incited  their  Indian  allies, 
Governor  Shirley,  of  Massachusetts,  proposed  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court  to  take  Louisburg.  No  aid  was  expected  from 
the  mother  country  —  she  was  too  much  engaged  at  home  ; 
but  the  other  colonies  were  invited  to  enlist  in  the  com- 
mon cause.  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  agreed  to 


, 


•  5 

220  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  furnish  money,  but  declined  to  send  men  ;  New  York 

L  furnished  money  and  some  cannon ;  Connecticut  offered 

1744.  five  hundred  men ;  Khode  Island  and  New  Hampshire 
each  furnished  a  regiment.  Massachusetts  proposed  the 
expedition,  was  the  most  interested  in  its  success,  bore 
the  greater  part  of  the  expense,  and  furnished  the  greater 
portion  of  the  men  and  vessels.  The  fishermen,  especially 
those  of  Marblehead,  entered  upon  the  enterprise  with 
alacrity.  Their  fisheries  had  been  almost  ruined  and  they 
thrown  out  of  employment,  by  the  continued  forays  from 
Louisburg.  Farmers,  mechanics,  and  lumbermen  volun- 
teered in  great  numbers.  Here  were  citizen  soldiers, 
without  a  single  man  whose  knowledge  of  military  tactics 
went  beyond  bush-fighting  with  the  Indians,  and  all 
equally  ignorant  of  the  proper  means  to  be  used  in  redu- 
cing a  fortified  place.  A  wealthy  merchant,  William  Pep- 
perellj  of  Maine,  was  elected  commander.  The  artillery 
was  under  the  direction  of  Gridley,  the  same  who,  thirty 
ears  afterward,  held  a  similar  position  in  an  American 
army  under  very  different  circumstances.  The  enthusiasm 
was  great,  and  what  was  lacking  in  means  and  skill,  was 
supplied  by  zeal.  A  strong  Protestant  sentiment  was 
mingled  with  the  enterprise,  and  Whitefield,  then  on  his 
third  tour  of  preaching  in  the  colonies,  was  urged  to  fur- 
nish a  motto  for  a  banner.  He  promptly  suggested,  "  Nil 
deeper  andum,  Christo  duce" — "  Nothing  is  to  be  despaired 
of  when  Christ  is  leader."  He  also  preached  to  them  an 
inspiriting  sermon,  and  they  sailed,  like  the  Crusaders  of 
old,  confident  of  success. 

In  April  the  fleet  arrived  at  Canso,  but  owing  to  the 
ice,  could  not  enter  the  harbor  of  Louisburg.  Intelligence 
of  the  expedition  had  been  sent  to  England,  and  Admiral 
Warren,  who  commanded  on  the  West  India  station,  was 
invited  to  join  in  the  enterprise.  He  declined  for  want  of 
explicit  orders,  but  afterward  receiving  permission,  he 
hastened  to  join  them  with  four  men-of-war. 


LOUISBURG   CAPTURED.  221 

The  whole  armament  was  now  put  in  motion  for  Lou-   CHAP. 

isburg.     That  stronghold  had  walls  forty  feet  thick,  thirty  L 

feet  high,  and  surrounded  by  a  ditch  eighty  feet  wide,    1745. 
with  protecting  forts  around  it,  manned  by  nearly  two 
hundred  and  fifty  cannon,  small  and  great,  and  garrisoned 
by  sixteen  hundred  men. 

As  the  fleet  approached,  the  French  came  down  to  the 
beach  to  oppose  their  landing,  but  in  a  moment  the  "  whale 
boats,"  filled  with  armed  men,  were  "  flying  like  eagles" 
to  the  shore.  Their  opposers,  panic-stricken,  fled  ;  and 
the  following  night  the  soldiers  of  the  royal  battery,  one 
of  the  outside  forts,  spiked  their  cannon  and  retreated  to 
the  town.  The  deserted  fort  was  immediately  taken  pos- 
session of,  and  the  gunsmiths  went  to  work  to  bore  out 
the  spikes.  The  next  day  a  detachment  marched  round 
the  town,  giving  it  three  cheers  as  they  passed,  and  took 
up  a  position  that  completely  enclosed  the  place  on  the 
land  side,  while  the  fleet  did  the  same  toward  the  ocean. 
They  threw  up  batteries,  dragged  their  cannon  over  a 
morass,  and  brought  them  to  bear  upon  the  fortress. 

These  amateur  soldiers  soon  became  accustomed  to 
encamping  in  the  open  air,  and  sleeping  in  the  woods,  as 
well  as  to  the  cannon-balls  sent  among  them  by  the  be- 
sieged. They  not  only  prevented  ships  from  entering  the 
harbor,  but  found  means  to  decoy  into  the  midst  of  their 
fleet  and  capture  a  man-of-war  of  sixty-four  guns,  laden 
with  stores  for  the  fort.  This  loss  so  much  disheartened 
the  garrison  that,  after  a  siege  of  seven  weeks,  Louisburg  -^ 
surrendered.  The  news  of  this  success  sent  a  thrill  of 
joy  throughout  the  colonies.  It  was  the  greatest  feat 

of  the  war,  and  was  accomplished  by  undisciplined  volun- 
teers. 

France  resolved,  at  any  cost,  to  recover  her  stronghold, 
and  also  to  desolate  the  English  colonies.  The  fleet  sent 
for  the  purpose  was  disabled  by  storms,  while  pestilence 
wasted  the  men.  The  commander,  the  Duke  d'Anville, 


I 


* 

222  HISTORY  or  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

• 

CHAP,    suddenly  died,  and  his  successor,  a  short  time  after,  com- 
mitted suicide.    The  next  year,  the  fleet  sent  for  the  same 


xx. 


1746.    purpose  was  forced  to  strike  its  colors  to  an  English  squad- 
ron under  Admirals  Anson  and  Warren. 

Though  thus  successful,  the  frontier  settlements  still 
suffered  greatly,  and  in  self-defence  the  old  project  was 
revived  of  conquering  Canada.  The  government  of  Eng- 
land required  all  the  colonies,  as  far  south  as  Virginia,  to 
furnish  men  and  means.  Eight  thousand  men  were  raised, 
of  which  number  Massachusetts  furnished  nearly  one-half. 
The  British  ministry  suddenly  changed  their  mind,  and 
the  enterprise  was  abandoned.  Soon  after,  the  treaty  of 
Aix  la  Chapelle  was  concluded,  by  which  all  places  taken 
by  either  party  during  the  war  were  to  be  restored.  Thus 
Louisburg,  the  capture  of  which  was  so  gratifying  to  the 
colonists,  and  so  significant  of  their  daring  spirit,  passed 

1748.    again  into  the  hands  of  the  French. 

The  ministry  did  not  relish  the  ardor  and  independ- 
ence of  the  colonists,  who  appeared  to  have,  according  to 
Admiral  Warren,  "  the  highest  notions  of  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  Englishmen  ;  and,  indeed,  as  almost  levellers." 
It  was  in  truth  the  foreshadowing  of  their  complete  inde- 
pendence of  the  mother  country,  and  measures  were  taken 
by  her  to  make  them  more  subservient.  They  were  for- 
bidden to  have  any  manufactures,  to  trade  to  any  place 
out  of  the  British  dominions,  while  no  other  nation  than 
the  English  were  permitted  to  trade  with  them.  "  These 
oppressions,"  says  an  intelligent  traveller  of  that  day, 
"  may  make,  within  thirty  or  fifty  years,  the  colonies  en- 
tirely independent  of  England." 

For  many  years  there  had  been  a  marked  decline  in 
religion  in  New  England.  A  peculiar  union  of  church 
and  state  had  led  to  a  sort  of  compromise  between  the 
two,  known  as  the  "  Half-way  covenant,"  by  which  per- 
sons who  had  been  baptized,  but  without  pretensions  to 


I. 

JONATHAN   EDWARDS. THE    GREAT    REVIVAL.  223 


personal  piety,  were   admitted  to   the  full  privileges  of    c|jAP- 
church  members.  

In  the  midst  of  this  declension  a  religious  "  Awaken-  1735. 
ing/'  Better  known  as  the  "  Great  Kevival,"  commenced 
at  Northampton,  in  Massachusetts,  under  the  preaching 
of  Jonathan  Edwards,  a  young  man  remarkable  for  his 
intellectual  endowments.  His  sermons  were  doctrinal  and 
strongly  Calvinistic.  His  religious  character  had  been 
early  developed.  At  thirteen  he  entered  Yale  College  ; 
thoughtful  beyond  his  years,  a  metaphysician  by  nature, 
at  that  early  age  he  was  enraptured  with  the  perusal  of 
Locke  on  the  "  Understanding/'  Secluded  from  the  world 
by  the  love  of  study,  he  penetrated  far  into  the  mysteries 
of  the  workings  of  the  human  mind. 

Edwards  drew  from  the  Bible  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  relation  between  the  church  and  the  world.  The 
contest  was  long  and  strenuous,  but  the  lines  were  clearly 
drawn,  and  from  that  day  to  this  the  distinction  is  marked 
and  appreciated.  "  He  repudiated  the  system  of  the  Half- 
way covenant,"  and  proclaimed  the  old  doctrines  of  "  the 
sole  right  of  the  sanctified  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  church 
members,  and  of  salvation  by  faith  alone."  As  the  influ- 
ence of  the  state  in  religious  matters  thus  began  to  fade 
away,  a  closer  spiritual  relation  of  men  to  men,  not  as 
members  of  a  commonwealth  alone,  but  as  members  of  a 
great  brotherhood,  gained  in  importance. 

Parties  sprang  into  existence  ;  those  who  favored  a 
more  spiritual  life  in  religion  were  stigmatized  as  "  Ne\^ 
Lights,"  while  the  steady  conservatives  were  known  as 
the  "  Old  Lights."  So  bitter  was  the  feeling  that  in  Con- 
necticut the  civil  authority  was  invoked,  and  severe  laws 
were  enacted  against  the  New  Lights.  The  controversy 
was  so  warm  that  Edwards  was  driven  from  his  congrega- 
tion— at  that  time,  "the  largest  Protestant  society  in  the 
world."  He  went  as  a  missionary  to  the  Housatonic  In- 
dians at  Stockbridge,  Massachusetts.  There  in  the  forest, 
* 


'42. 

w 


224  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

* 

CHAP,    amid  toils  and  privations,  he  wrote  his  far-famed  treatise 
'     on  the  "  Freedom  of  the  Will,"  which  has  exerted  so 

1750.  much  influence  in  the  theological  world,  while  the  writer 
was  the  first  American  that  obtained  a  European  reputa- 
tion as  an  author. 

1740.  During  this  period  Whitefield  came,  by  invitation,  to 
New  England.  He  had  been  preaching  in  the  south  with 
unexampled  success.  At  intervals,  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  he  preached  the  gospel  from  colony  to  colony.  "  Hun- 
dreds of  thousands  heard  the  highest  evangelical  truths 
uttered  with  an  eloquence  probably  never  equalled."  The 
influence  of  the  awakening  spread  till  all  the  colonies 
were  visited  by  the  same  blessings,  especially  the  Presby- 
terians of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  and 
in  a  less  degree  in  the  more  southern  colonies.  These 
influences  were  not  limited  to  that  age,  for  similar  revivals 
have  continued  to  our  own  times. 

^  The  Baptists,  hitherto  but  few  in  number,  received  a 
new  impulse,  as  many  of  the  New  Light  churches  adopted 
their  views  ;  and  the  preaching  of  Whitefield  prepared 
the  way  for  the  success  of  the  Methodists. 

The  revival  created  a  want  for  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
to  supply  which,  the  Kev.  William  Tennent  established 
an  academy  at  Neshaminy  ;  an  institution  where  young 
men  professing  the  religious  fervor  that  characterized  those 
prominent  in  the  revival,  could  be  prepared  for  the  sacred 
office.  This  was  the  germ  of  Princeton  College. 

This  religious  sentiment  met  with  little  sympathy 
from  the  authorities  of  the  colony,  and  with  difficulty  a 

1746.  charter  was  obtained.  The  institution  was  named  Nassau 
Hall,  in  honor  of  the  great  Protestant  hero,  William  III. 
It  was  first  located  at  Elizabethtown,  then  at  Newark, 

1757.  and  finally  at  Princeton.  Its  success  was  unexampled  ; 
in  ten  years  the  number  of  students  increased  from  eight 
to  ninety. 


* 


• 


• 

CHAPTEK    XXI. 

FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR. 

The  Valley  of  the  Ohio. — French  and  English  Claimants. — Gist  the  Pioneer. 
— George  Washington  ;  his  Character  ;  lus  Mission  to  the  French  on 
the  AUeghany. — Returns  to  Williamsburg. — St.  Pierre's  Letter  unsatis- 
factory.— Virginians  driven  from  the  Ohio. — Fort  Du  Quesne  built. — 
Washington  sent  to  defend  the  Frontiers. — Conflict  at  Fort  Necessity. — 
The  Fort  abandoned. — British  Troops  arrive  in  America. — Plan  of  oper- 
ations.— General  Braddock  ;  his  qualifications. — The  Army  marches 
from  Wills'  Creek. — Obstinacy  of  Braddock. — Arrival  on  the  Mononga- 
hela.— The  Battle.— Defeat.— Death  and  Burial  of  Braddock.— Dun- 
bar's  Panic. — The  Frontiers  left  unprotected. 
I 

SCARCELY  an  English  colonist  had  yet  settled  in  the  val^  CHAP. 

ley  of  the  Ohio.     The  traders  who  visited  the  Indians  in  '_ 

that  region,  told  marvellous  stories  of  the  fertility  of  the  1749. 
soil,  and  the  desirableness  of  the  climate.  It  was  pro- 
posed to  found  a  colony  west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains. 
The  governor  of  Virginia  received  royal  instructions  to 
grant  the  "  Ohio  Company  "  five  hundred  thousand  acres 
of  land  lying  between  the  rivers  Monongahela  and  Kana- 
wha,  and  on  the  Ohio.  The  company  engaged  to  send  one 
hundred  families  ;  to  induce  them  to  emigrate  they  offered 
them  freedom  from  quit-rents  for  ten  years. 

Meantime,  the  French  sent  three  hundred  men  to  ex- 
pel the  English  traders  and  take  possession  of  the  valley. 
They  also  sent  agents,  who  passed  through  the  territory 
north  of  the  Ohio  river,  and  at  various  points  nailed  on 
the  trees  plates  of  lead,  on  which  were  inscribed  the  arms 
of  France.  This  they  were  careful  to  do  in  the  presence 
15 


. 


226  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Cxxf*    °^        Indians,  who  suspected  they  intended  to  take  away 

their  lands.     When  the  English  came  and  made  surveys 

1749.  on  the  south  side  of  the  Ohio,  they  asked  them  the  puz- 
zling question  :  "  If  the  French  take  possession  of  the 
north  side  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  English  of  the  south, 
where  is  the  Indian's  land  ?  " 

At  Wills'  Creek,  now  Cumberland,  Maryland,  one  of 
the  easiest  passes  over  the  mountains  commenced.  Here 
the  Ohio  Company  established  a  place  of  deposit  to  sup- 
ply Indian  traders  with  goods.  They  also  wished  to 
explore  the  Ohio  river  to  the  great  falls  ;  to  ascertain  the 
location  of  the  best  lands,  and  whether  the  Indians  were 
friendly  or  unfriendly.  They  employed  for  this  dangerous 
and  difficult  task  the  celebrated  trader  and  pioneer  Chris- 
topher Gist,  who  crossed  the  mountains  and  came  upon 
the  Alleghany  river,  at  a  village  occupied  by  a  few  Dela- 
ware Indians.  Thence  he  passed  down  to  Logstown,  a 
sort  of  head-quarters  for  traders,  situated  some  miles 
below  the  junction  of  that  river  and  the  Monongahela. 
Here  dwelt  a  renowned  chief  of  the  western  tribes,  Tana- 
charison,  or  half-king,  as  he  was  called,  because  he  ac- 
knowledged, a  sort  of  allegiance  to  the  Mohawks.  "  You 
are  come  to  settle  the  Indian  lands,"  said  the  resident 
trader,  whose  suspicions  were  roused  ;  "  you  will  never  go 
home  safe."  Gist  traversed  the  region  of  the  Muskingum 
and  of  the  Scioto,  then  crossed  the  Ohio,  and  passed  up 
the  Cuttawa  or  Kentucky  to  its  very  springs.  He  gave  a 
glowing  account  of  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  region 
he  had  visited.  It  was  covered  with  trees  of  immense 
size,  the  wild  cherry,  the  ash,  the  black  walnut,  and  the 
sugar  maple,  the  two  latter  giving  indubitable  proof  of  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  ;  a  land  abounding  in  never-failing 
springs  and  rivulets,  forests  interspersed  with  small  mead- 
ows, covered  with  long  grass  and  white  clover,  on  which 
fed  herds  of  elk,  deer,  and  buffalo,  while  the  wild  turkey 
and  other  game  promised  abundance  to  the  hunter  and 

I 


* 


*- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  227 

» 

pioneer.    Such  was  the  primitive  character  of  the  territory  CHAP. 
since  known  as  the  State  of  Ohio. 


He  ascertained  that  French  emissaries  were  visiting  1749. 
all  the  western  tribes,  to  induce  them  to  take  up  arms 
against  the  English  ;  that  the  Indians  looked  upon  both 
as  intruders,  and  though  willing  to  trade  with  both,  were 
unwilling  that  either  should  occupy  their  lands.  The 
French  saw  that  if  the  English  obtained  a  foothold  on  the 
Ohio,  they  would  cut  off  the  communication  between  the 
Lakes  and  the  Mississippi.  The  final  struggle  for  the 
supremacy  in  the  valley  was  near  at  hand. 

While  the  English,  by  invitation  of  the  Indians,  were 
approaching  from  the  south,  to  build  a  fort  at  the  head  of 
the  Ohio,  the  French  were  approaching  the  same  point 
from  the  north.  The  latter  had  built  war  vessels  at  Fron- 
tenac  to  give  them  the  command  of  Lake  Ontario  ;  they 
had  strengthened  themselves  by  treaties  with  the  most 
powerful  tribes,  the  Shawnees  and  the  Delawares  ;  they 
had  repaired  Fort  Niagara,  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Erie,  and 
at  this  time  had  not  less  than  sixty  fortified  and  well  gar- 
risoned posts  between  Montreal  and  New  Orleans.  They 
had  also  built  a  fort  at  Presque  Isle,  now  Erie,  one  on 
French  Creek,  on  the  site  of  Waterford,  and  another  at 
the  junction  of  that  creek  with  the  Alleghany,  now  the 
village  of  Franklin. 

Dinwiddie,  governor  of  Virginia,  resolved  to  send  a 
messenger  to  remonstrate  with  the  French  for  intruding 
on  English  territory.  Where  could  he  find  a  man  of  en- 
ergy and  prudence  to  trust  in  this  laborious  and  perilous 
iinder taking  ?  His  attention  was  directed  to  a  mere 
youth,  in  his  twenty-second  year,  a  surveyor,  who,  in  the 
duties  of  his  profession,  had  become  somewhat  familiar 
with  the  privations  of  forest  life.  That  young  man  was 
George  Washington.  He  was  a  native  of  Westmoreland 
county,  Virginia.  The  death  of  his  father  left  him  an 
orphan  when  eleven  years  of  age.  The  wealthy  Virginia 


» 


228  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITES   STATES. 

CHAP,   planters  of  those  days  were   accustomed   to   send   their 

1  sons  to  England  to  complete  their  education,  and  thus 

1T49.  had  Lawrence,  his  half-brother,  fourteen*years  older  than 
himself,  been  educated.  No  such  privilege  was  in  store 
for  G-eorge.  His  father's  death  may  have  interfered  with 
such  plans  :  be  that  as  it  may,  he  was  sent  to  the  com- 
mon school  in  the  neighborhood,  and  there  taught  only 
*  the  simplest  branches  of  an  English  education — to  spell, 

to  read,  to  write,  to  cipher.  When  older,  he  went  for  some 
time  to  an  academy  of  a  somewhat  higher  grade,  where  he 
devoted  his  time  particularly  to  the  study  of  mathematics. 
Though  his  school  advantages  were  so  limited,  it  was 
his  inestimable  privilege  to  have  a  mother  endowed  with 
good  sense,  united  to  decision  of  character  and  Christian 
principle, — she  inspired  love,  she  enforced  obedience. 
From  her  he  inherited  an  ardent,  impulsive  temper — from 
her  he  received  its  antidote  ;  she  taught  him  to  hold  it  in 
subjection.  frV 

The  early  life  of  George  Washington  furnishes  an  ex- 
ample worthy  the  imitation  of  the  youth  of  his  country. 
We  are  told  of  his  love  of  truth,  of  his  generous  and  noble 
acts,  that  he  won  the  confidence  of  his  schoolmates,  and 
received  from  them  that  respect  which  virtue  alone  can 
secure. 

He  was  systematic  and  diligent  in  all  his  studies. 
There  may  yet  be  seen,  in  the  library  at  Mount  Vernon, 
the  book  in  which  he  drew  his  first  exercises  in  surveying  ; 
every  diagram  made  with  the  utmost  care.  Thus  was 
foreshadowed  in  the  youth  what  was  fully  developed  in 
the  man.  At  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  we  find  him  in  the 
woods  on  the  frontiers  of  Virginia,  performing  his  duties 
as  a  surveyor  ;  making  his  measurements  with  so  much 
accuracy  that  to  this  day  they  are  relied  upon. 

We  must  not  suppose  that  the  studious  and  sedate 
youth,  with  his  rules  for  governing  his  "  conversation  and 
conduct "  carefully  written  out,  and  as  carefully  observed, 


THE    FORMATION   OF    HIS    CHARACTER. 


229 


1749. 


was  destitute  of  boyish  feelings.     He  had  his  youthful  CHAP. 
sports  and  enjoyments  ;  he  could  exhibit  feats  of  strength  . 
and  skill ;  could  ride  a  horse  or  throw  a  stone  with  any 
boy,  and  was  so  far  military  in  his  tastes  as  occasionally  to 
drill  his  school-fellows  during  recess. 

His  brother  Lawrence  had  spent  some  time  in  the  Eng- 
lish navy,  and  George  had  often  heard  of  the  excitements 
of  the  seaman' s  life,  and  had  boyish  longings  for  adven- 
tures on  the  ocean.  Circumstances  seemed  to  favor  his 
wishes.  When  fourteen,  it  was  decided  that  he  should 
enter  the  navy.  The  man-of-war  on  which  he  was  to  go 
as  a  midshipman  was  lying  in  the  Potomac  ;  his  baggage 
was  ready,  but  when  the  parting  hour  came  the  mother's 
heart  failed.  Though  deeply  disappointed,  George  yielded 
to  her  wish,  and  relinquished  his  anticipated  pleasure. 

Though  Washington  was  born  and  spent  his  youth  in 
the  wilds  of  Virginia,  there  were  many  refining  influences 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  formation  of  his  character.  He 
was  intimate  for  years  in  the  Fairfax  family,  who  brought 
with  them  to  their  western  home  the  refinement  and  cul- 
ture of  the  English  aristocracy  of  that  day.  Neither 
must  we  overlook  the  benign  influence  exerted  over  him 
by  his  educated  and  benevolent  brother  Lawrence,  who, 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  watched  over  his  young 
brother  with  a  father's  care,  as  well  as  a  brother's  love. 

The  influence  of  Christian  principle  governing  the  im- 
pulses of  a  noble  nature,  was  the  secret  of  the  moral 
excellence,  the  dignified  integrity,  unaffected  candor,  and 
sterling  worth,  which  shone  forth  in  the  character  of 
Washington, — a  name  so  much  blended  with  the  liberties 
of  his  country,  and  so  much  cherished  and  honored  by  the 
friends  of  humanity  in  every  clime. 

Governor  Dinwiddie  gave  his  youthful  messenger  a 
letter  for  the  French  commandant  on  the  Ohio,  in  which 
he  demanded  of  him  his  reasons  for  invading  the  territory 
of  England.  The  very  day  on  which  Washington  re- 


230  HISTOKY    OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CxxiP'  ceived  nis  credentials,  (October  30,)  he  left  Williamsburg 

.. for  Winchester,  then  a  frontier  town  of  Virginia.     By  the 

1753.  middle  of  November  his  preparations  were  completed. 
With  a  company  consisting  of  the  intrepid  Gist,  who 
acted  as  guide,  two  interpreters,  and  four  others,  he  set 
out  from  Wills'  Creek.  A  journey  of  nine  days,  through 
solitudes  and  mountain  passes,  and  across  streams  swollen 
by  recent  rains,  brought  them  to  where  the  Monongahela, 
that  river  "  so  deep  and  still/'  meets  the  "  swift  running 
Alleghany."  Washington  explored  the  neighborhood,  and 
remarks  in  his  journal :  "  The  land  at  the  Fork  is 
extremely  well  situated  for  a  fort,  as  it  has  absolute 
command  of  both  rivers."  Thus  thought  the  French  en- 
gineers, who  afterward  on  that  very  spot  built  Fort  Du 
Quesne. 

Shingis,  chief  sachem  of  the  Delawares,  who  afterward 
took  up  arms  against  the  English,  accompanied  him  to 
Logstown.  Here,  by  his  instructions,  Washington  was  to 
confer  with  the  Indian  chiefs  :  he  summoned  them  to  a 
grand  talk.  They  would  not  commit  themselves  ;  they 
had  heard  that  the  French  were  coming  with  a  strong 
force  to  drive  the  English  out  of  the  land.  But  he  in- 
duced three  of  them  to  accompany  him  to  the  station  of 
the  French  commandant  ;  among  these  was  the  Half- 
King. 

When  he  arrived  at  Venango,  or  Franklin,  the  officer 
in  command  referred  him  to  the  Chevalier  St.  Pierre, 
general  officer  at  the  next  post.  Meanwhile  he  was 
treated  with  politeness,  and  invited  by  the  French  officers 
to  a  supper.  The  wine  passed  freely,  and  the  talka- 
tive  Frenchmen  began  to  boast  of  their  plans  ;  they 
would  "  take  possession  of  the  Ohio  ;  the  English  could 
raise  two  men  for  their  one,  but  they  were  too  slow  and 
dilatory."  The  sober  and  cautious  Washington  marked 
well  their  words.  The  three  chiefs  had  promised  well ; 
they  would  give  back  the  speech  belts  to  the  French  • 


.* 


THE   VIRGINIANS   DRIVEN   FROM   THE   OHIO.  231 

p 

they  were  friends  to  the  English.     But  when  plied  with  CHAP. 

drink,  and  hailed  by  the  French  as  "  Indian  brothers,"  L 

they  wavered  for  a  time,  1753. 

Washington  obtained  an  interview  with  St.  Pierre, 
"an  ancient  and  silver-haired  chevalier,  courteous  but 
ceremonious,"  and  after  some  delay  received  an  answer  to 
his  despatches,  and  hastened  homeward.  As  the  pack- 
horses  were  disabled,  he  left  them  and  the  baggage,  and 
with  Gist  for  his  only  companion  struck  out  into  the  wil- 
derness. The  cold  was  intense,  the  snow  was  falling,  and 
freezing  as  it  fell.  Wrapped  in  Indian  blankets,  with 
their  guns  in  their  hands  and  knapsacks  on  their  backs, 
and  a  compass  to  guide  them,  they  pushed  on  toward  the 
Alleghany  river,  which  they  hoped  to  cross  on  the  ice. 
Their  journey  through  the  pathless  wild  was  marked  by 
some  mishaps  and  hairbreadth  escapes.  Their  lives  were 
endangered  by  a  false  guide,  and  Washington  in  endeav- 
oring to  force  his  way  through  the  ice  in  the  river,  came 
near  perishing  ;  but,  on  the  sixteenth  of  January,  they  1754. 
arrived  safely  at  Williamsburg. 

The  answer  of  St.  Pierre  was  courteous  but  indefinite. 
He  referred  the  matter  to  the  Marquis  Du  Quesne,  the 
governor  of  Canada.  It  was  clear,  however,  that  he  did 
not  intend  to  retire  from  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  This 
was  still  more  evident  from  the  preparations  of  boats,  ar- 
tillery, and  military  stores,  which  Washington  noticed  up 
the  Alleghany,  waiting  for  the  spring  flood,  when  they 
would  be  taken  to  their  place  of  destination. 

The  following  spring  the  Ohio  Company  sent  between 
thirty  and  forty  men  to  build  a  fort  at  the  head  of  the 
Ohio.  The  French  were  on  the  alert ;  a  company  of  sol- 
diers  floated  down  the  Alleghany,  who  surprised  and  sur- 
rounded them  at  their  work.  They  must  surrender  in  an 
hour's  time  or  defend  themselves  against  a  thousand  men. 
They  were  glad  to  leave  their  unfinished  fort  and  return 


«  - 


232  HISTOKY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   to  Virginia.      The   French   took  immediate   possession, 

_  finished  it;  and  named  it  Du  Quesne. 

1754.  At  the  early  age  of  nineteen  Washington  had  been 
appointed  Adjutant-General  of  the  northern  district  of 
Virginia,  an  office  which  he  filled  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  his  countrymen.  Now  he  received  the  commission  of 
lieutenant-colonel,  with  orders  to  protect  the  frontiers. 
He  was  also  offered  the  command  of  the  expedition  against 
the  French  at  Fort  Du  Quesne.  This  he  declined  on  ac- 
count of  his  youth  ;  the  command  was  then  conferred 
upon  Colonel  Fry,  who  shortly  after  fell  ill,  and  it  virtu- 
ally passed  into  the  hands  of  Washington.  His  little 
army  was  ill  provided  with  tents  and  military  stores,  and 

Cly  clad.  They  moved  on  very  slowly.  It  was  not 
with  a  train  of  artillery  to  pass  through  the  forests; 
climb  mountains,  and  ford  swollen  rivers.  Washington 
pushed  on  with  a  detachment  for  the  junction  of  the  Ked- 
stone  and  Monongahela.  '  There,  on  the  spot  now  known 
as  Brownsville,  he  hoped  to  maintain  his  position  until 
the  main  force  should  come  up,  and  then  they  would  float 
down  the  river  in  flat-boats  to  Fort  Du  Quesne. 

On  the  ninth  of  May  this  detachment  arrived  at  a 
place  called  the  Little  Meadows.  Here  they  met  traders, 
who  informed  them  that  the  French  were  in  great  force  at 
Du  Quesne,  and  that  a  portion  of  them  had  set  out  on  a 
secret  expedition.  There  was  but  little  doubt  as  to  its 
object.  Presently  came  an  Indian  runner  ;  he  had  seen 
the  tracks  of  the  Frenchmen  ;  they  were  near.  The  Half- 
King  with  forty  warriors  was  also  in  the  neighborhood. 
On  a  dark  and  stormy  night,  Washington  and  forty  of  his 
^^  men  groped  their  way  to  his  camp,  which  they  reached 
about  daylight.  This  faithful  ally  put  a  couple  of  runners 
upon  the  enemy's  tracks  ;  they  reported  that  the  French 
were  encamped  in  a  deep  glen,  where  they  had  put  up 
temporary  cabins. 

Washington  arranged  his  company  in  two  divisions,  and 


. 

SURRENDER   OF   FORT   NECESSITY.  233 

so  effectually  surprised  them  that  few  of  their  number   CHAP. 

escaped.     Among  the  slain  was  the  youthful  De  Jumon-  L 

ville,  the  leader  of  the  party.  Here  was  shed  the  first  1754. 
blood  in  that  seven  years'  struggle,  in  which  the  French 
power  on  this  continent  was  broken.  As  no  reinforce- 
ments were  sent,  Washington  was  greatly  disappointed ; 
he  could  not  maintain  the  advantage  he  had  gained.  He 
heard  that  a  numerous  force  was  on  its  way  to  attack  him. 
In  a  letter  to  his  friend  Colonel  Fairfax  he  writes  :  "  The 
motives  that  have  led  me  here  are  pure  and  noble.  I  had 
no  view  of  acquisition,  but  that  of  honor  by  serving 
faithfully  my  king  and  country." 

He  built  a  fort  at  the  Great  Meadows,  which,  from 
the  fact  of  famine  pressing  upon  them,  he  named  Fort 
Necessity.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  mention,  that  at  this 
encampment  public  prayer  was  daily  observed,  and  con- 
ducted by  the  youthful  commander  himself. 

Soon  five  hundred  French  and  many  hundred  Indians 
appeared  on  the  hills  in  sight  of  the  fort.  He  drew  out 
his  men  for  battle,  but  the  enemy  declined  the  contest. 
Then  he  withdrew  them  within  the  inclosure,  giving  them  % 

directions  to  fire  only  when  an  enemy  was  in  sight.  This 
irregular  fighting  continued  throughout  the  day.  The 
rain  poured  in  torrents,  and  rendered  useless  many  of 
their  muskets.  At  night  the  French  desired  a  parley ; 
suspecting  stratagem  to  introduce  a  spy,  Washington  at 
first  refused,  but  at  length  consented.  Much  of  the  night 
was  spent  in  negotiation  ;  finally,  the  Virginians  were 
allowed  to  leave  the  fort  with  the  honors  of  war,  and  their 
equipments  and  stores,  except  artillery.  The  next  morn- 
ing the  youthful  hero  led  out  his  men.  The  Indians  im-  July 
mediately  began  to  plunder  ;  Washington,  seeing  this, 
ordered  every  thing  to  be  destroyed  that  the  soldiers  could 
not  carry.  The  loss  of  the  Virginia  regiment,  which 
numbered  about  three  hundred,  was  nearly  fifty  ;  the  loss 
of  the  enemy  was  greater.  After  much  toil  and  suffering, 


234  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

°xxf'   ^rom   want  °^  Provisi°ns?  they  arrived   at   Cumberland. 

Thus  ended  the  first  military  expedition  of  Washington. 

1754.  Although  unsuccessful,  he  displayed  so  much  prudence 
and  judgment  that  the  people  were  impressed  by  his 
merits,  and  which  the  House  of  Burgesses  acknowledged 
by  a  vote  of  thanks. 

He  was,  however,  soon  after  annoyed  and  mortified  by 
the  course  pursued  by  the  narrow-minded  Dinwiddie,  who, 
unwilling  to  promote  the  provincial  officers,  dissolved  the 
Virginia  regiments,  and  formed  them  into  independent 
companies,  in  which  there  should  be  no  officer  of  higher 
rank  than  that  of  captain.  With  a  dignity  and  self-respect 
worthy  of  his  character,  Washington  withdrew  from  the 
army.  When  Governor  Sharpe,  of  Maryland,  was  ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief  by  the  king,  he  invited  him, 
through  a  friend,  to  join  it  again  under  the  title  of  colonel, 
but  really  with  no  higher  authority  than  that  of  captain. 
He  declined  the  offer,  writing  in  reply,  "  If  you  think  me 
capable  of  holding  a  commission  that  has  neither  rank 
nor  emolument  annexed  to  it,  you  must  maintain  a  very 
contemptible  opinion  of  my  weakness,  and  believe  me  more 
empty  than  the  commission  itself. "  He  was  still  further 
mortified  by  Dinwiddie's  refusal  to  give  up  the  French 
prisoners,  according  to  the  articles  of  capitulation  at  Fort 
Necessity. 

While  these  contests  were  in  progress  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio,  the  French  and  English  nations  were  ostensibly 
at  peace.  Each,  desirous  of  deceiving  the  other,  professed 
to  hope  that  this  little  collision  would  not  interrupt  their 
harmony ;  the  French  still  continued  to  send  ships  to 
America  laden  with  soldiers  ;  and  the  English  matured 
plans  to  drive  them  away. 

Matters  took  a  more  decided  form  ;  war  was  not  de- 
clared, but  open  hostilities  commenced,  and  England,  for 
the  first  time,  sent  an  army  to  aid  the  colonists. 


GENERAL  BRADDOCK — THE  EXPEDITION.          235 

Four  expeditions  were  decided  upon :  one  to  capture   CHAP. 
the  French  posts  near  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  . 
expel  the  French  from  Acadie  ;  another  against  Crown    1754. 
Point,  to  be  led  by  William  Johnson,  Indian  agent  among 
the  Mohawks  ;  the  third,  against  Niagara  and  Frontenac. 
was  to  be  intrusted  to  Shirley,  Governor  of  Massachusetts  ; 
the  fourth  against  Fort  Du  Quesne  ;  the  latter  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief, General  Edward  Braddock,  was  to  lead 
in  person. 

The  struggle  was  about  to  commence  in  earnest ; 
British  troops  had  arrived,  and  the  colonies  responded  with 
a  good  will  to  the  call  of  the  mother  country  for  levies  of 
soldiers* 

General  Braddock  was  perfect  in  the  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  mere  military  training  ;  he  had  been  in  the 
"  Guards  "  many  years,  where  he  had  drilled  and  drilled, 
but  had  never  seen  actual  service.  With  the  conceited 
assurance  of  inexperience,  he  believed  the  excellencies 
of  the  soldier  were  alone  found  in  the  British  regular — 
the  perfection  of  military  skill  in  British  officers.  To 
these  qualifications  he  added  a  most  supercilious  con- 
tempt for  the  provincial  soldiers  and  their  officers. 

He  was  to  lead  in  person  the  force  against  Fort  Du 
Quesne.  Of  the  difficulties  of  marching  an  army^over  1755^ 
mountains,  and  through  an  unbroken  wilderness,  he  was 
blindly  ignorant.  He  was  unwilling  to  hear  advice,  or 
even  receive  information  on  the  subject  ;  and  when  Wash- 
ington, whom  he  had  invited  to  act  as  one  of  his  aids, 
suggested  that  "  if  the  march  was  to  be  regulated  by  the 
slow  movements  of  the  train,  it  would  be  tedious,  very 
tedious  indeed,"  he  made  no  reply,  but  smiled  at  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  young  man,  who  knew  so  little  about  the  \ 
movements  of  a  regular  army.  Afterward,  Benjamin 
Franklin  ventured  to  direct  his  attention  to  the  danger  of 
Indian  ambuscades.  To  his  suggestion  Braddock  replied  : 
"  The  Indians  are  no  doubt  formidable  to  raw  Americans, 


236  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   but  upon  the  king's  regulars,  and  disciplined  troops,  it  is, 

sir,  impossible  they  should  make  any  impression." 
55.  The  army  assembled  at  Wills'  Creek,  to  which  place 
Braddock  came  in  his  coach,  and  surrounded  by  his  staff, 
"  cursing  the  road  very  heartily  " — its  roughness  had  brok- 
en his  coach,  and  ruffled  his  temper.  He  refused  to  em- 
ploy Indians  as  scouts  on  the  march,  or  to  protect  the 
Pennsylvanians,  who  were  making  a  road  for  the  passage 
of  the  army  ;  hooted  at  the  suggestion  of  Washington  to 
take  as  little  baggage  as  possible,  and  to  employ  pack- 
horses  instead  of  wagons.  The  English  officers  could 
give  up  neither  their  cumbrous  baggage  nor  their  lux- 
uries, neither  could  the  general  dispense  wi|h  "  his 
two  good  cooks,  who  could  make  an  excellent  ragout  out 
of  a  pair  of  boots,  had  they  but  materials  to  toss  them 
up  with." 

June.  After  a  month's  delay,  the  army  commenced  its  march. 
The  difficulties  of  dragging  heavily  laden  wagons  and 
artillery  over  roads  filled  with  stumps  of  trees  and  rocks, 
brought  the  general  partially  to  his  senses,  and  he  inquired 
of  Washington  what  was  the  best  to  be  done.  From 
recent  accounts  it  was  known  that  the  garrison  at  Fort 
Du  Quesne  was  small,  and  he  advised  that  a  division  of 
light  armed  troops  should  be  hurried  forward  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  place,  before  reinforcements  could  arrive 
from  Canada.  Accordingly,  twelve  hundred  choice  men 
were  detached  from  the  main  body  and  pushed  forward, 
taking  with  them  ten  field-pieces,  and  pack-horses  to  carry 
their  baggage.  The  main  division  was  left  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Dunbar,  with  orders  to  move  on  as  fast 
as  possible. 

The  general  persisted  in  refusing  to  employ  either  In- 
dians or  backwoodsmen  as  scouts.  There  was  a  celebrated 
hunter,  known  all  along  the  frontiers  as  Captain  Jack. 
He  was  "  the  terror  of  the  Indians."  He  had  been  their 
prisoner,  had  lived  years  among  them,  and  was  familiar 


j. 


THE  ARMY  AT  THE  MONONGAHELA.  237 

with  their  habits.     Afterward  he  cleared  for  himself  a  CHAP. 
piece  of  land,  built  his  cabin,  and,  happy  in  his  forest  life, 


cultivated  his  ground  and  amused  himself  by  hunting  and  1755. 
fishing.  On  his  return  home  on  a  certain  evening  he  found 
his  wife  and  children  murdered,  and  his  cabin  in  ashes. 
From  that  hour  he  devoted  his  life  to  defend  the  frontiers, 
and  to  avenge  himself  upon  the  destroyers  of  his  worldly 
happiness.  He  offered  his  services  and  those  of  his  band 
to  act  as  scouts,  and  seek  the  Indians  in  their  lurking- 
places.  Braddock  received  him  very  coldly,  and  declined 
the  offer,  saying  that  he  "had  experienced  troops  upon 
whom  he  could  rely  for  all  purposes." 

Even  the  advance  division  moved  very  slowly,  not 
more  than  three  or  four  miles  a  day.  Says  Washington 
in  a  letter,  "Instead  of  pushing  on  with  vigor,  without 
regarding  a  little  rough  road,  they  halt  to  level  every 
mole-hill  and  to  erect  a  bridge  over  every  brook."  A 
month's  slow  march  through  the  woods  brought  the  army 
to  the  east  bank  of  the  Monongahela,  about  fifteen  miles 
above  Fort  Du  Quesne.  Only  the  very  day  before  the  pro- 
posed attack  on  that  fort,  Washington,  who  had  been 
detained  by  a  fit  of  sickness,  was  able  to  join  them.  As  July  9. 
the  hills  came  down  to  the  water's  edge,  it  was  necessary 
to  cross  the  river  directly  opposite  to  the  camp,  and  five 
miles  below,  at  another  ford,  recross  to  the  east  side. 
Colonel  Gage — he,  who,  twenty  years  afterward,  com- 
manded a  British  army  in  Boston — crossed  before  daylight, 
and  with  his  detachment  moved  rapidly  to  the  second 
ford  ;  then  recrossing,  took  position  to  protect  the  passage 
of  the  main  force.  Washington  ventured,  once  more  to 
suggest  that  the  Virginia  Hangers,  consisting  of  three  hun- 
dred men,  should  be  thrown  in  advance.  This  proposition 
received  an  angry  reply  from  Braddock,  and,  as  if  to  make 
the  rebuke  more  conspicuous,  the  Virginians  and  other 
provincials  were  placed  as  a  rear-guard.  At  sunrise  the 
remainder  of  the  army  was  in  motion.  Their  equipments 


238  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   were  in  the  most  perfect  order  ;  their  muskets  were  bur- 

L  nished,  and  charged  with  fresh  cartridges,  and  in  high 

55.    spirits  they  moved  along,  with  bayonets  fixed,  colors  flying, 
and  drums  beating. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  after  recrossing  the 
river,  as  the  army  was  moving  along  a  narrow  road,  not 
more  than  twelve  feet  wide,  with  scarcely  a  scout  in  front 
or  on  the  flanks,  the  engineer,  who  was  marking  the  way, 
suddenly  cried  out  "  French  and  Indians."  Scarcely  was 
the  alarm  given,  before  rapid  firing  was  heard  in  front, 
accompanied  by  most  terrific  yells.  The  army  was  in  a 
broad  ravine,  covered  with  low  shrubs,  with  moderately 
rising  ground  in  front  and  on  both  sides.  On  this  eleva- 
tion among  the  trees  were  the  French  and  Indians,  invisi- 
ble to  the  English,  but  from  their  hiding-places  able  to  see 
every  movement  of  the  soldiers  in  the  ravine,  and  to  take 
deliberate  aim.  The  regulars  were  thrown  into  confusion  ; 
the  sight  of  their  companions  shot  down  beside  them  by 
an  invisible  enemy,  together  with  the  unearthly  yells  of 
the  savages,  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  through  their  souls. 
They  were  ordered  to  charge  bayonet  up  the  hill,  but  no 
orders  could  induce  them  to  leave  the  line.  The  enemy 
had  been  sent  to  occupy  this  very  position,  but  had  arrived 
too  late  ;  now  they  were  spreading  all  along  both  sides  of 
the  ravine.  The  English  soldiers  lost  all  control,  and  fired 
at  random  into  the  woods,  wherever  they  saw  the  smoke 
of  an  enemy's  gun.  The  advance  party  fell  back  upon 
the  second  division,  and  threw  it  into  still  greater  confu- 
sion. At  this  moment  Colonel  Burton  came  up  with  a 
reinforcement^eight  hundred  strong,  but  just  as  they  had 
formed  to  face  the  enemy,  down  upon  them  rushed  the 
two  foremost  divisions  pell-mell ;  all  were  crowded  to- 
gether in  inextricable  confusion,  and  their  officers  were 
nearly  all  slain  or  wounded.  Now  came  Braddock  him- 
self. He  ordered  the  colors  to  advance,  and  the  respective 


THE    BATTLE.  239 

regiments  to  separate  and  form  in  ranks — but  in  vain.   No   CHAP. 
orders  were  obeyed.  ^ 

In  a  few  minutes  after  the  battle  commenced  the  Yir-  1755. 
ginia  Hangers  were  behind  trees,  and  rapidly  picking  off 
the  Indians  ;  but  unfortunately  many  of  these  brave  men 
fell  victims  to  the  random  shots  of  the  regulars.  Wash- 
ington entreated  Braddock  to  permit  his  soldiers  to  pro- 
tect themselves,  as  the  Virginians  had  done  ;  but  he 
refused,  and  still  persisted  in  striving  to  form  them  into 
platoons,  and  when  any  sheltered  themselves  behind  trees, 
he  called  them  cowards  and  struck  them  with  the  flat  of 
his  sword.  Thus,  through  his  obstinacy,  these  unfortu- 
nate men  became  targets  for  the  enemy.  The  officers  ex- 
hibited the  greatest  bravery,  and  many  of  them  fell,  as 
they  were  the  special  objects  of  the  sharpshooters.  Two 
of  the  aids,  Morris  and  Orme,  were  severely  wounded, 
and  their  duties  devolved  upon  Washington.  His  expo- 
sure was  great,  as  he  passed  often  from  one  part  of  the 
field  to  another  ;  yet  he  gave  his  orders  with  calmness 
and  judgment.  When  sent  to  bring  up  the  artillery,  he 
found  the  Indians  surrounding  it,  Sir  Peter  Halket,  the 
commander,  killed,  and  the  men  paralyzed  with  fear.  He 
encouraged  them,  leaped  from  his  horse,  pointed  a  field- 
piece  and  discharged  it.  It  was  useless  ;  the  men  deserted 
the  guns.  For  three  hours  the  desperate  fight  lasted. 
During  this  time  Braddock  was  in  the  centre  of  the  con- 
flict, trying,  in  his  way,  to  regain  the  field.  His  officers 
had  nearly  all  fallen,  and  his  slain  soldiers  covered  the 
ground  ;  still  he  would  not  permit  the  remainder  to  adopt 
the  Indian  mode  of  fighting. 

Five  horses  were  shot  under  him,  and  finally  he  him- 
self was  mortally  wounded.  As  he  was  falling  from  his 
horse  Captain  Stewart,  of  the  Virginia  Guards,  caught 
him  in  his  arms.  As  they  bore  him  out  of  danger,  he 
begged  to  be  left  to  die  upon  the  field  of  his  misfortune. 
All  was  now  abandoned.  The  fall  of  the  general  saved 


240  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

the  army  from  entire  destruction.  The  soldiers  were  now 
at  liberty  to  save  themselves  as  best  they  could.  "  The 
regulars  fled  like  sheep  before  hounds."  The  Virginia 
Kangers  threw  themselves  in  the  rear,  and  for  some  time 
held  the  enemy  in  check.  The  wagoners  mounted  their 
team-horses  and  fled  ;  all  hurried  to  the  ford,  fiercely  pur- 
sued by  the  Indians.  The  love  of  plunder  restrained  the 
pursuers,  and  after  the  fugitives  had  recrossed  the  river 
they  were  not  molested. 

Washington  rode  all  that  night  and  the  next  day  to 
Dunbar's  camp  to  obtain  wagons  to  transport  the  wounded, 
and  soldiers  to  guard  them.  When  he  had  obtained  these 
he  hastened  back  to  meet  the  fugitives. 

Braddock  was  still  able  to  issue  orders,  and  seems  to 
have  had  a  faint  hope  that  he  might  hold  out  till  he 
could  receive  reinforcements.  He  was  carried  by  the  sol- 
diers, being  unable  to  mount  a  horse ; — at  length,  the 
fugitives  arrived  at  Fort  Necessity.  The  wounded  gen- 
eral appeared  to  be  heart-broken.  He  scarcely  spoke  ;  as 
if  reflecting  on  his  past  confidence  in  his  troops,  he  would 
occasionally  ejaculate,  "  Who  would  have  thought  it  ?  " 
Tradition  tells  of  his  softened  feelings  toward  those  whom 
he  had  treated  harshly  ;  of  his  gratitude  to  Captain  Stew- 
art for  his  care  and  kindness  ;  of  his  apology  to  Washing- 
ton for  the  manner  in  which  he  had  received  his  advice. 
On  the  night  of  the  thirteenth  of  July  he  died.  The  next 
morning,  before  the  break  of  day,  he  was  buried  as  secretly 
as  possible,  lest  the  Indians,  who  were  hovering  around, 
should  find  his  grave  and  violate  it.  The  chaplain  was 
among  the  wounded,  and  Washington  read  the  funeral 
service.  Near  the  national  road,  a  mile  west  of  Fort 
Necessity,  may  be  seen  a  rude  pile  of  stones — 'the  work 
of  some  friendly  hand, — it  marks  the  grave  of  Braddock. 
"  His  dauntless  conduct  on  the  field  of  battle  shows  him 
to  have  been  a  man  of  spirit.  His  melancholy  end,  too, 
disarms  censure  of  its  asperity.  Whatever  may  have  been 


THE  FRONTIERS  LEFT  EXPOSED.  241 

his  faults  and  errors,  he,  in  a  manner  expiated  them  by  CHAP. 

the  hardest  lot  that  can  befall  a  brave  soldier  ambitious  _J 

of  renown, — an   unhonored   grave   in  a  strange  land,  a    1755. 
memory  clouded  by  misfortune,  and  a  name  ever  coupled 
with  defeat."  1 

The  frightened  Dunbar,  though  he  had  under  his  com- 
mand fifteen  hundred  effective  men, — enough,  if  properly 
led,  to  have  regained  the  field, — broke  up  his  camp,  de- 
stroyed his  stores,  and  retreated  with  all  speed  ;  only  when 
he  had  arrived  safely  in  Philadelphia  did  he  breathe  freely. 
His  failure  of  duty  left  the  frontiers  exposed  to  the  inroads 
of  the  savages. 

Of  eighty-six  officers,  twenty-six  had  perished,  and 
thirty-six  were  wounded.  Among  the  latter  was  Captain 
Horatio  Gates,  who,  twenty-five  years  later,  was  conspicu- 
ous as  a  major-general  in  the  struggle  for  independence. 
Of  the  soldiers,  more  than  seven  hundred  were  either 
killed  or  wounded.  The  gallant  Virginia  Rangers  had 
perished  in  great  numbers,  for  upon  them  had  fallen  the 
brunt  of  the  battle.  When  it  became  known  that  there 
were  only  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  French,  and  about 
six  hundred  and  fifty  Indians  in  the  battle,  the  disgrace 
was  deeply  felt,  that  this  handful  of  men,  sent  merely  to 
hold  the  English  in  check,  should  have  defeated  a  well- 
equipped  and  disciplined  army  of  nearly  twice  their  own 
number. 

The  religious  sentiments  of  the  colonists  were  greatly 
shocked  at  the  profanity,  Sabbath-breaking,  and  almost 
every  form  of  vice  and  wickedness  common  in  this  boastful 
army.  So  certain  were  the  expectations  of  victory,  that 
preparations  were  made  to  celebrate  it. 

It  is  proper  to  notice  the  effect  of  these  events  upon  the 
minds  of  the  colonists.  With  them  the  name  of  the  Brit- 
ish regulars  had  lost  its  prestige — they  were  not  invincible. 

1  Washington  Irving. 
16 


242  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Cxxf'   "^n  a(^ition,  the  haughtiness  of  the  British   officers  had 

inflicted  wounds  destined  never  to  be  healed.     The  atten- 

1755.  tion  of  the  people  was  directed  especially  to  Washington. 
In  a  letter  to  his  brother  Augustine  he  says  :  "  By  the 
all-powerful  dispensation  of  Providence,  I  have  been  pro- 
tected beyond  all  human  probability  or  expectation  ;  for 
I  had  four  bullets  through  my  coat,  two  horses  shot  under 
me,  yet  escaped  unhurt,  though  death  was  levelling  my 
companions  on  every  side  around  me/' 

The  wonderful  manner  in  which  he  had  been  preserved 
in  that  day  of  peril,  excited  universal  attention.  No 
doubt  the  Kev.  Samuel  Davies,  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
clergymen  of  the  day,  expressed  the  common  sentiment, 
when,  in  a  sermon  preached  soon  after  Braddock's  defeat, 
he  referred  to  him  as  "  that  heroic  youth,  Colonel  Wash- 
ington, whom  I  cannot  but  hope  Providence  has  hitherto 
preserved  in  so  signal  a  manner  for  some  important  ser- 
vice to  his  country."  Washington  was  never  wounded  in 
battle  :  he  was  shielded  by  the  same  protecting  hand. 


.; 


CHAPTEE    XXII. 

FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR— CONTINUED. 

The  French  Acadiens ;  their  simple  Manners,  Industry,  and  good  Morals. — 
Expulsion  from  their  Homes,  and  mournful  Exile. — Expedition  against 
Crown  Point. — Baron  Dieskau. — English  defeated. — Death  of  Colonel 
Williams. — Attack  on  Johnson's  Camp  repulsed. — Death  of  Dieskau. — 
Williams  College. — Indian  Ravages  on  the  Frontiers  of  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania. — Kittanning  destroyed. — Lord  London  Commander-in- 
chief. — His  tardiness  and  arbitrary  Measures. — Montcalm  acts  with 
Energy  ;  captures  Fort  Ontario,  then  Fort  William  Henry. — Exhausted 
condition  of  Canada. 

IN  the  mean  time  other  expeditions  were  undertaken 
against  the  French.  For  this  purpose  Massachusetts 
alone  raised  eight  thousand  soldiers,  almost  one-fifth  part  1755. 
of  her  able-bodied  men.  A  portion  of  Acadie  or  Nova 
Scotia  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  French.  It  consisted 
of  the  isthmus  on  the  northern  part,  which  was  defended 
by  two  insignificant  forts.  For  forty  years,  since  the  peace 
of  Utrecht,  the  peninsula  had  been  under  British  rule, 
and  now  the  whole  territory  was  completely  subdued. 
These  forts,  with  scarcely  any  resistance,  fell  into  the  June 
hands  of  the  English.  Sixteen  years  before  the  Pilgrims  16< 
landed  at  Plymouth  this  French  colony  was  established 
on  the  Peninsula  of  Acadie.  It  was  the  oldest  perma- 
nent French  settlement  in  North  America.  For  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  the  Acadiens  had  been  gradually 
clearing  and  improving  their  lands,  and  enjoying  the  com- 
forts of  rural  life.  At  first  their  chief  sources  of  wealth 
had  been  the  fisheries  and  the  fur-trade ;  but  these  had 


244  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

xxjf*  gradualty  given  way  to  agriculture.     Their  social  inter- 

course  was  governed  by  a  high  tone  of  morals.     Their 

1755.  differences,  but  few  in  number,  were  settled  by  the  arbi- 
tration of  their  old  men.  Seldom  did  they  go  with  com- 
plaints to  their  English  rulers.  Early  marriages  were 
encouraged,  and  when  a  young  man  came  of  age,  his 
neighbors  built  him  a  house,  and  aided  him  for  one  year, 
and  the  wife's  friends  aided  her  with  gifts.  Their  fields 
were  fertile,  and  industry  made  them  productive.  Their 
meadows,  which  now  were  covered  with  flocks  of  sheep 
and  herds  of  cattle,  they  had,  by  means  of  dikes,  redeemed 
from  the  great  flow  of  the  tide.  Their  little  cottages  dot- 
ted the  landscape.  In  their  domestic  industry  each  family 
provided  for  its  own  wants,  and  clothed  its  members  with 
cloth  and  linen  made  from  the  wool  of  their  flocks,  or  from 
the  flax  of  their  fields. 

As  Catholics,  they  were  happy  in  the  exercise  of  their 
religion  ;  though  they  belonged  to  the  diocese  of  Quebec, 
they  were  not  brought  into  close  relation  with  the  people 
of  Canada.  They  knew  but  little  of  what  was  passing 
beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  neighborhood.  Independ- 
ent of  the  world,  they  had  its  comforts,  but  not  its  luxu- 
ries. They  now  numbered  about  seventeen  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  up  to  this  time  their  English  rulers  had 
left  them  undisturbed  in  their  seclusion. 

A  dark  cloud  was  hanging  over  this  scene  of  rural 
simplicity  and  comfort.  As  they  were  excused  from  bear- 
ing arms  against  France  by  the  terms  of  their  surrender, 
the  Acadiens  were  known  as  "  French  neutrals  ;"  neither 
had  they  been  required  to  take  the  usual  oaths  of  allegi- 
ance ;  they  had  promised  submission  to  English  au- 
thority, to  be  neutral  in  times  of  war  with  France,  and  it 
was  understood  they  were  to  enjoy  their  religion.  This 
oath  was  one  which,  as  good  Frenchmen  and  good  Catho- 
lics, they  could  not  take  ;  it  required  them  to  bear  arms 
against  their  own  brethren  in  Canada,  and  it  might  in- 


THE    OATHS    OF    ALLEGIANCE.  245 

volve  the  interests  of  their  religion.  "  Better,"  urged  CHAP. 
the  priests,  "surrender  your  meadows  to  the  sea,  and  -  ^ 
your  houses  to  the  flames,  than  at  the  peril  of  your  souls  1755. 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  British  government." 
But  it  was  now  to  be  exacted.  "  They  possess  the  best 
and  largest  tract  of  land  in  this  province,"  writes  Law- 
rence, Lieutenant-governor  of  Nova  Scotia,  to  Lord  Hali- 
fax ;  "  if  they  refuse  the  oaths,  it  would  be  much  better 
that  they  were  away."  This  "  largest  and  best  tract " 
seems  to  have  been  coveted  by  their  English  rulers  ;  they 
undoubtedly  were  suspicious  of  the  Acadiens  as  Catholics, 
and  it  is  true  some  of  their  more  ardent  young  men  be- 
longed, as  volunteers,  to  the  garrisons  of  the  recently 
captured  forts  ;  but  as  this  simple-minded  people  had 
neither  the  will  nor  the  power  to  aid  the  enemies  of  Eng- 
land, we  cannot  suppose  that  this  suspicion  alone  induced 
the  British  to  visit  upon  them  a  severity  so  unparalleled. 
The  question  of  allegiance  was,  however,  to  be  pressed  to 
the  utmost ;  if  they  refused  to  take  the  oath,  the  titles  to 
their  lands  were  to  be  null  and  void.  The  haughty  con- 
duct of  the  British  officers  sent  to  enforce  these  orders 
was  to  them  a  harbinger  of  sorrow.  Their  property  was 
wantonly  taken  for  the  public  service,  and  "  they  not  to 
be  bargained  with  for  payment  ; "  if  they  did  not  bring 
wood  at  the  proper  time,  "  the  soldiers  might  take  their 
houses  for  fuel."  Their  guns  were  taken,  and  their  boats 
seized,  under  the  pretence  that  they  intended  to  carry 
provisions  to  the  French.  The  English  insisted  upon 
treating  this  people,  so  faithful  to  their  country  and  their 
religion,  as  lawless  rebels.  Wearied  by  these  oppressions, 
their  deputies  promised  allegiance  ;  they  declared  that 
their  consciences  would  not  permit  them  to  rebel  against 
their  rulers,  and  they  humbly  asked  that  their  arms  and 
boats  might  be  restored.  "  The  memorial  is  highly  arro- 
gant, insidious,  and  insulting,"  said  the  haughty  Law- 
rence ;  "  guns  do  not  belong  to  you  by  law,  for  you  are 


246  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.    Koman  Catholics."     After  consultation  with,  the  people, 

1  the  deputies  offered  to  swear  unconditionally.     Then  they 

1V55.    were  told,  as  they  had  once  refused,  now  they  should  not 
be  permitted  to  swear. 

A  calamity,  as  unexpected  as  it  was  dreadful,  was  at 
hand.  By  proclamation,  "  the  old  men,  and  young  men, 
as  well  as  all  lads  over  ten  years  of  age,"  were  called  upon 
to  assemble,  on  a  certain  day,  the  fifth  of  September,  at 
certain  posts  in  their  respective  districts,  to  hear  the 
Sept.  "  wishes  of  the  king."  The  call  was  obeyed.  At  Grand 
Pre  alone  more  than  four  hundred  unsuspecting  and  un- 
armed men  and  boys  came  together.  They  were  gathered 
into  the  church,  its  doors  were  closed,  and  Winslow,  the 
commander,  announced  to  them  the  decision  of  the  Brit- 
ish government.  They  were  to  be  banished  forever  from 
their  native  province  ;  from  the  fields  they  had  cultivated, 
from  the  pleasant  homes  where  they  had  spent  their 
youth.  They  might  not  emigrate  to  lands  offered  them 
among  friends  in  Canada,  lest  they  should  add  strength 
to  the  French.  They  were  to  be  driven  forth  as  beggars 
among  their  enemies,  a  people  of  a  strange  language  and 
of  a  different  religion.  They  were  retained  as  prisoners, 
till  the  ships  which  were  to  bear  them  away  were  ready. 
As  soon  as  possible,  their  wives  and  little  children  were 
also  seized.  On  the  day  of  embarkation,  the  young  men 
and  boys  were  first  ordered  on  board  the  ship  ;  as  their 
parents  and  friends  were  not  allowed  to  go  with  them, 
they  refused,  fearing  that  if  thus  separated,  they  might 
never  meet  again — a  thought  they  could  not  bear.  But 
resistance  and  entreaties  were  useless  ;  driven  by  the  bay- 
onet, they  were  marched  from  the  church  to  the  ship, 
which  was  a  mile  distant ;  their  way  was  lined  with  weep- 
ing friends,  mothers,  and  sisters,  who  prayed  for  blessings 
on  their  heads,  and  they  themselves  wept  and  prayed  and 
mournfully  chanted  psalms  as  they  passed  along.  Then 
in  the  same  manner  the  fathers  were  driven  on  board 


THE  SORKOWS  OF  THE  EXILES.  247 

f 

another  ship.     The  wives  and  children  were  left  behind  :  CHAP. 

XXII 

these  were  kept  for  weeks  near  the  sea  without  proper  1 

shelter  or  food,  shivering  in  December's  cold,  till  ships    1755. 
could  come  to  take  them  away.    "  The  soldiers  hate  them, 
and  if  they  can  but  find  a  pretext  will  kill  them."     Thus 
wrote  an  English  officer  who  was  engaged  in  this  work  of 
cruelty. 

In  some  places  the  object  of  the  proclamation  was 
suspected,  and  the  men  and  youth  did  not  assemble.  In 
the  vicinity  of  Annapolis  some  fled  to  the  woods,  with 
their  wives  and  children,  some  went  to  Canada,  while 
others  threw  themselves  upon  the  hospitality  of  the  In- 
dians, from  whom  they  received  a  hearty  welcome.  That 
these  poor  people,  who  had  fled  to  the  woods,  might  be 
compelled  by  starvation  and  exposure  to  give  themselves 
up,  orders  were  issued  to  lay  waste  their  homes,  and  the 
whole  country  was  made  a  desolation,  from  the  village 
and  its  church,  to  the  peasant's  cottage  and  barn.  "  For 
successive  evenings  the  cattle  assembled  round  the  smoul- 
dering ruins,  as  if  in  anxious  expectation  of  the  return  of 
their  masters  ;  while  all  night  long  the  faithful  watch- 
dogs howled  over  the  scene  of  desolation,  and  mourned 
alike  the  hand  that  had  fed,  and  the  house  that  had  shel- 
tered them."  l 

Seven  thousand  of  these  poor  people  were  transported 
and  cast  helpless  on  the  shores  of  the  English  colonies, 
from  New  Hampshire  to  Georgia.  Families  were  separated 
never  to  meet  again.  From  time  to  time,  for  many  years 
afterward,  advertisements  in  the  newspapers  of  the  colo- 
nies told  the  tale  of  sorrow.  Now  they  inquired  for  a  lost 
wife  or  husband,  now  brothers  and  sisters  inquired  for 
each  other;  parents  for  their  children,  and  children  for 
their  parents.  When  any  in  after  years  attempted  to  re- 
turn they  were  driven  off.  Some  of  those  taken  to  Georgia 

1  Haliburton's  History  of  Nova  Scotia. 


248  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


could  endure  their  banishment  no  longer.  They  obtained 
boats,  and  coasted  along  the  shore  toward  home  ;  but, 
1V55.  alas  !  when  almost  at  the  end  of  their  perilous  voyage, 
they  were  ordered  away.  Some  wandered  to  Louisiana, 
where  lands  on  the  river  above  New  Orleans,  still  known 
as  the  Acadien  coast,  were  assigned  them. 

This  work  of  wanton  cruelty  was  done  by  men,  who  un- 
blushingly  congratulated  the  approving  king  that  the  work 
of  desolation  had  been  so  effective]y  accomplished  —  a  work, 
which,  for  its  treachery  and  cowardly  cruelty,  deserves  the 
reprobation  of  every  human  breast.  "  I  know  not  that  the 
annals  of  the  human  race  keep  the  record  of  sorrows  so 
wantonly  inflicted,  so  bitter  and  so  perennial,  as  fell  upon 
.  the  French  inhabitants  of  Acadie.  The  hand  of  the  Eng- 
lish official  seemed  under  a  spell  with  regard  to  them, 
and  was  never  uplifted  but  to  curse  them."  l 

The  expedition  against  Crown  Point,  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  had  been  intrusted  to  General  William  Johnson. 
His  troops  were  drawn  principally  from  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  ;  a  regiment  from  New  Hampshire  joined 
them  at  Albany.  At  the  head  of  boat  navigation  on  the 
Hudson,  a  fort  was  built  which,  in  honor  of  their  com- 
mander, whom  they  reverenced  as  "  a  brave  and  virtuous 
man,"  the  soldiers  named  Fort  Lyman.  But  when  John- 
son assumed  the  command  he  ungenerously  changed  the 
name  to  Fort  Edward.  Leaving  a  garrison  in  this  fort, 
Johnson  moved  with  about  five  thousand  men  to  the  head 
of  Lake  George,  and  there  formed  a  camp,  intending  to 
descend  into  Lake  Champlain.  Hendrick,  the  celebrated 
Mohawk  chief,  with  his  warriors,  were  among  these  troops. 
Israel  Putnam,  too,  was  there,  as  a  captain,  and  John 
Stark  as  a  lieutenant,  each  taking  lessons  in  warfare. 

The  French  were  not  idle  ;  the  district  of  Montreal 
made  the  most  strenuous  exertions  to  meet  the  invading  foe. 

1  Bancroft. 

r 


THE  ENGLISH  FALL  INTO  AN  AMBUSCADE.  249 

All  the  men  who  were  able  to  bear  arms  were  called  into   CHAP. 

active  service  ;  so  that  to  gather  in  the  harvest,  their  1 

places  were  supplied  by  men  from  other  districts.  The  1755. 
energetic  Baron  Dieskau  resolved,  by  a  bold  attack,  to 
terrify  the  invaders.  Taking  with  him  two  hundred  reg- 
ulars, and  about  twelve  hundred  Canadians  and  Indians, 
he  set  out  to  capture  Fort  Edward  ;  but  as  he  drew  near, 
the  Indians  heard  that  it  was  defended  by  cannon,  which 
they  greatly  dreaded,  and  they  refused  to  advance.  He 
now  changed  his  plan,  and  resolved  to  attack  Johnson's 
camp,  which  was  supposed  to  be  without  cannon. 

Meantime  scouts  had  reported  to  Johnson,  that  they 
had  seen  roads  made  through  the  woods  in  the  direction 
of  Fort  Edward.  Not  knowing  the  movements  of  Dieskau, 
a  detachment  of  a  thousand  men,  under  Colonel  Ephraim 
Williams,  of  Massachusetts,  and  two  hundred  Mohawks, 
under  Hendrick,  marched  to  relieve  that  post.  The 
French  had  information  of  their  approach,  and  placed 
themselves  in  ambush.  They  were  concealed  among  the 
thick  bushes  of  a  swamp,  on  the  one  side,  and  rocks  and 
trees  on  the  other.  The  English  recklessly  marched  into 
the  defile.  They  were  vigorously  attacked,  and  thrown  Sept. 
into  confusion.  Hendrick  was  almost  instantly  killed,  and  5- 
in  a  short  time  Williams  fell  also.  The  detachment  com- 
menced to  retreat,  occasionally  halting  to  check  their  pur- 
suers. The  firing  was  heard  in  the  camp ;  as  the  sound 
drew  nearer  and  nearer,  it  was  evident  the  detachment 
was  retreating.  The  drums  beat  to  arms,  trees  were 
hastily  felled  and  thrown  together  to  form  a  breastwork, 
upon  which  was  placed  a  few  cannon,  just  arrived  from 
the  Hudson.  Scarcely  were  these  preparations  made, 
when  the  panting  fugitives  appeared  in  sight,  hotly  pur- 
sued by  the  French  and  Indians.  Intending  to  enter  the 
camp  with  the  fugitives,  Dieskau  urged  forward  his  men 
with  the  greatest  impetuosity.  The  moment  the  fugitives 
were  past  the  muzzles  of  the  cannon,  they  opened  with 


250  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

a  tremendous  shower  of  grape,  which  scattered  the  terrified 
Indians  and  checked  the  Canadians,  but  the  regulars 
1T55.  pushed  on.  A  determined  contest  ensued,  which  lasted  five 
hours,  until  the  regulars  were  nearly  all  slain,  while  the 
Indians  and  Canadians  did  but  little  execution  ;  they  re- 
mained at  a  respectful  distance  among  the  trees.  At 
length  the  enemy  began  to  retreat,  and  the  Americans 
leaped  over  the  breastwork  and  pursued  them  with  great 
vigor.  That  same  evening,  after  the  pursuit  had  ceased, 
as  the  French  were  retreating,  they  were  suddenly  attack- 
ed with  great  spirit  by  the  New  Hampshire  regiment, 
which  was  on  its  way  from  Fort  Edward.  They  were  so 
panic-stricken  by  this  new  assault,  that  they  abandoned 
every  thing,  and  fled  for  their  lives. 

Dieskau  had  been  wounded  once  or  twice  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  battle,  but  he  never  left  his  post ;  two 
of  his  soldiers  generously  attempted  to  carry  him  out  of 
danger,  but  when  in  the  act  one  of  them  received  his  death 
wound  ;  he  urged  the  other  to  flee.  In  the  midst  of  flying 
bullets  he  calmly  seated  himself  on  the  stump  of  a  neigh- 
boring tree.  He  was  taken  prisoner,  kindly  treated,  and 
sent  to  England,  where  he  died. 

Johnson  was  slightly  wounded  at  the  commencement 
of  the  battle,  and  prudently  retired  from  danger.  To 
General  Lyman  belongs  the  honor  o/  the  victory,  yet  John- 
son, in  his  report  of  the  battle,  did  not  even  mention  his 
name.  Johnson,  for  his  exertions  on  that  day,  was  made 
a  baronet,  and  received  from  royal  favor  a  gift  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars.  He  had  friends  at  court,  but  Lyman 
was  unknown. 

Colonel  Ephraim  Williams,  who  fell  in  this  battle, 
while  passing  through  Albany  had  taken  the  precaution 
to  make  his  will,  in  which  he  bequeathed  property  to 
found  a  free  school  in  western  Massachusetts.  That  school 
has  since  grown  into  WILLIAMS  COLLEGE — a  monument 


INDIAN    VILLAGE   OF    KITTANNING   DESTROYED.  251 

more  honorable  than   one  of  granite,  one  fraught   with  CHAP. 

blessings  to  future  generations.  1 

Johnson,  instead  of  pushing  on  to  take  advantage  of  the  1V55. 
victory,  loitered  in  his  camp,  and  finally  built  and  garrison- 
ed a  useless  wooden  fort,  which  he  named  William  Henry. 

As  has  been  mentioned,  the  retreat  of  Dunbar  left  the 
frontiers  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  subject  to  the  hor- 
rors of  savage  warfare.  Washington  was  intrusted  with 
their  defence,  but  so  few  men  had  he  at  his  command, 
and  they  so  scattered,  as  to  afford  but  little  protection. 
The  distant  settlers  of  Virginia  were  driven  in,  and  the 
beautiful  valley  of  the  Shenandoah  became  almost  a  deso- 
lation. Governor  Dinwiddie,  as  an  apology  for  not  furnish- 
ing more  soldiers,  wrote  :  "  We  dare  not  part  with  any 
of  our  white  men  to  any  distance,  as  we  must  have  a 
watchful  eye  over  our  negro  slaves."  In  one  of  his  letters, 
Washington  says  :  "  The  supplicating  tears  of  women 
and  moving  petitions  of  the  men,  melt  me  into  such 
deadly  sorrow,  that  for  the  people's  ease,  I  could  offer 
myself  a  willing  sacrifice  to  the  treacherous  enemy." 

The  village  of  Kittanning,  twenty  or  thirty  miles  up 
the  Alleghany,  above  Fort  Du  Quesne,  was  the  head-quar- 
ters of  a  notable  Indian  chief,  known  as  Captain  Jacobs. 
Incited  by  the  French,  he  and  his  bands  made  many  mur- 
derous incursions  against  the  settlements  of  Pennsylvania. 
His  associate  was  the  Delaware  chief  Shingis.  Benjamin 
Franklin,  who  had  been  appointed  colonel  by  the  governor, 
had  organized  the  Pennsylvania  militia  to  protect  the 
frontiers,  and  after  his  resignation,  Colonel  John  Arm- 
strong, afterward  a  major-general  in  the  Kevolutionary 
war,  was  chosen  in  his  place.  He  resolved  to  destroy  these 
Indians  and  their  village.  Three  hundred  Pennsylvanians 
volunteered  for  the  enterprise.  In  the  latter  part  of  Sep- 
tember they  set  out  on  horseback,  across  the  mountains, 
and  in  a  few  days  came  into  the  vicinity  of  Kittanning,  at 


252  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   night.     They  heard  the  savages  carousing  and  yelling  : 
1  they  left  their  horses,  approached  the  village,  and  arranged 


1756.  the  order  of  attack.  The  night  was  warm,  the  Indians 
Sept<  soon  began  to  separate,  some  to  sleep  in  the  corn-fields 
near  by,  and  some  in  wigwams.  As  day  began  to  dawn, 
the  Americans  surrounded  the  party,  and,  at  a  given  sig- 
nal, rushed  to  the  attack.  The  Indians  were  taken  by 
surprise,  but  soon  the  voice  of  Jacobs  was  heard  loud 
above  the  din,  cheering  on  his  warriors,  and  shouting, 
"  We  are  men,  we  will  not  be  prisoners."  The  wigwams 
were  set  on  fire,  and  warriors  were  heard  singing  their 
death-song  in  the  midst  of  the  flames.  Jacobs  attempted 
to  break  through  the  surrounding  foe,  but  his  career  was 
cut  short  by  a  rifle-ball.  This  nest  of  savage  murderers 
was  entirely  broken  up  ;  the  survivors  went  further  west, 
and  for  a  season  the  frontiers  had  peace. 
j  Lord  Loudon  was  appointed  a  sort  of  viceroy  of  all  the 
colonies.  He  sent  G-eneral  Abercrombie  as  his  lieutenant, 
having  suspended  Governor  Shirley,  and  ordered  him  to 
June,  repair  to  England.  Abercrombie  arrived  in  June,  and 
brought  with  him  several  British  regiments.  It  was  con- 
fidently expected  that  something  important  would  now  be 
done.  These  royal  gentlemen  had  an  army  of  seven  thou- 
sand men  at  Albany,  but,  as  the  Frenchmen  had  said, 
they  were  "  slow  and  dilatory/' — they  spent  the  summer 
in  adjusting  the  rank  of  the  officers.  The  soldiers  of  the 
colonies,  though  they  had,  by  their  indomitable  courage, 
saved  the  remnant  of  the  British  army  on  the  banks  of 
the  Monongahela ;  though,  at  Lake  George,  they  had 
driven  the  enemy  before  them,  and  had  defended  their 
soil  and  maintained  the  honor  of  the  English  name,  yet 
they  were  not  permitted  to  elect  their  own  officers,  and  if 
they  were  appointed  by  the  colonial  governors,  those  of 
the  same  rank  by  royal  appointment  took  the  precedence. 
These  were  the  petty  annoyances  dictated  by  little  minds, 
that  aided  so  much  in  alienating  the  colonists  from  the 


* 

§ 


FORTS   ONTARIO    AND   WILLIAM    HENRY   CAPTURED.  253 

mother  country,  and  in  the  end  leading  them  to  independ-   CHAP 
ence.  

While  the  English  were  thus  trifling,  Montcalm,  the  1756. 
successor  of  Dieskau,  was  acting.  With  five  thousand 
Frenchmen,  Canadians,  and  Indians,  he  darted  across  the 
lake,  and  suddenly  presented  himself  at  the  gates  of  Fort 
Ontario,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Oswego.  He  met  with  a 
vigorous  resistance  ;  not  until  they  had  lost  all  hope  of 
receiving  aid,  and  their  brave  commander,  Colonel  Mercer, 
was  killed,  did  the  garrison  surrender.  An  immense  Aug> 
amount  of  military  stores  fell  into  the  hands  of  Montcalm  ;  14-. 
he  sent  the  captured  flags  to  adorn  the  churches  of  Can- 
ada, and  to  please  the  Iroquois,  who  promised  neutrality, 
he  demolished  the  fort.  Though  it  was  known  that  this 
important  post  was  threatened,  yet  no  means  were 
taken  to  relieve  it.  Thus  London  planned  and  counter- 
planned,  accomplished  nothing,  and  then  withdrew  from 
his  arduous  labors  into  winter-quarters.  He  demanded 
free  quarters  for  his  officers  of  the  citizens  of  Albany, 
New  York,  and  Philadelphia.  As  the  demand  was  "  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  England  and  the  liberties  of  America," 
they  refused  to  accede  to  it.  He  threatened  to  bring  his 
soldiers  and  compel  them  to  submit  to  the  outrage.  The 
citizens,  in  their  weakness,  raised  subscriptions  to  support 
for  the  winter  those  who  had  wasted  the  resources  of  the 
country.  Thus  a  military  chief  invaded,  not  merely  the 
political  rights  of  the  people,  but  the  sanctities  of  their 
domestic  life. 

Montcalm  was  undisturbed  in  making  preparations  to 
capture  Fort  William  Henry,  before  which  he  appeared,  1757. 
the  next  year,  with  a  large  French  and  Indian  force.  The 
garrison  numbered  about  three  thousand  men,  under 
Colonel  Monroe,  a  brave  officer,  who,  when  summoned  to 
surrender,  indignantly  refused,  and  immediately  sent  to 
General  Webbe,  at  Fort  Edward,  fifteen  miles  distant,  for 
aid.  He  could  have  relieved  Monroe,  for  he  had  four 


'* 


254  HISTOEY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


thousand  men  at  his  disposal,  but  when  Putnam  obtained 
permission  to  go  to  the  aid  of  the  fort,  and  had  proceeded 


1757.  some  miles  with  his  rangers,  Webbe  recalled  him.  Then 
he  sent  a  letter  to  Monroe  advising  him  to  surrender.  This 
letter  fell  into  the  hands  of  Montcalm,  who  was  on  the 
point  of  raising  the  siege,  but  he  now  sent  the  letter  to 
Monroe,  with  another  demand  to  surrender.  The  brave 
veteran  would  not  capitulate,  but  held  out  till  half  his 
guns  were  rendered  useless.  Montcalm  was  too  brave  and 
generous  not  to  appreciate  nobleness  in  others,  and  he 
granted  him  the  privilege  of  marching  out  with  the  honors 
of  war.  The  only  pledge  he  asked,  was  that  the  soldiers 
should  not  engage  in  war  against  the  French  for  eighteen 
months.  They  were  to  retain  their  private  property,  and 
Canadian  and  Indian  prisoners  were  to  be  restored. 

Montcalm  held  a  council  of  the  Indians,  who  consented 
to  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  though  they  were  sadly  dis- 
appointed in  their  hopes  of  plunder.  He  refused  them 
rum,  and  thus  he  could  restrain  them  ;  but,  unfor- 
tunately, the  night  after  the  surrender  they  obtained  it 
from  the  English.  In  the  morning  they  were  frantic  from 
the  effects  of  intoxication,  and  when  the  garrison  were 
leaving  their  camp,  they  fell  upon  the  stragglers.  The 
French  officers  did  all  they  could  to  restrain  them,  and 
some  were  even  wounded  in  their  exertions  to  save  the 
English  soldiers  from  savage  violence.  Montcalm,  in  his 
agony,  cried,  "  Kill  me,  but  spare  the  English  ;  they  are 
under  my  protection."  Instead  of  an  orderly  retreat  to 
Fort  Edward,  it  was  a  flight. 

Thus  the  French,  with  a  population  in  Canada,  not 
one-twentieth  part  as  great  as  that  of  the  English  colo- 
nies, seemed  triumphant  everywhere.  Was  it  strange 
that  the  colonists  began  to  lose  their  respect  for  those  sent 
to  protect  them  from  their  enemies  —  especially  for  the 
officers  ?  They  believed  the  interference  of  the  home  gov- 
ernment hindered  the  advancement  of  their  cause,  while 

'$•**  * 

* 


CANADA   EXHAUSTED.  255 

the  majority  of  the  royalist  governors  seemed  to  be  actu-   OHAP. 

ated  by  no  worthier  motive  than  that  of  promoting  their  1 

own  interests.  1757. 

Though  the  French  were  thus  victorious,  and  pos- 
sessed the  valleys  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi, 
and  apparently  all  the  continent,  except  a  little  strip 
along  the  Atlantic  coast,  yet  Canada  was  exhausted.  The 
struggle  was  virtually  over.  Her  men  had  been  drawn  to 
the  battle-field,  while  their  farms  were  left  untilled,  and 
now  famine  was  beginning  to  press  upon  the  people.  Their 
cattle  and  sheep  were  destroyed,  and  horse-flesh  was  made 
to  supply  the  place  of  beef  ;  no  aid  could  come  from 
France,  as  nearly  all  intercourse  was  cut  off  by  the  ever- 
present  British  cruisers.  The  French  owed  their  success, 
not  to  their  own  strength,  but  to  the  imbecility  of  the 
English  commanders. 


* 
4 


I 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

FRENCH  AND    INDIAN   WAR,  CONTINUED. 

William  Pitt,  Prime  Minister.  —  Lord  Amherst,  Commander-in-chief.  —  Plan 
of  Operations.  —  Louisburg  captured.  —  Abercrombie  on  Lake  George  ; 
Repulse  and  Retreat.  —  Bradstreet  captures  Fort  Froutenac.  —  Expedi- 
tion against  Fort  Du  Quesne.  —  Colonel  Grant.  —  Washington  takes  pos- 
session of  the  Fort  ;  resigns  his  Commission.  —  Ticonderoga  abandoned  ; 
the  French  retire  to  Canada.  —  Wolfe  appears  before  Quebec,  —  Exer- 
tions of  Montcalm.  —  The  British  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham.  —  The 
Battle.  —  Deaths  of  Wolfe  and  Montcalm  ;  their  Memories.  —  Quebec  ca- 
pitulates. —  The  Cherokee  War.  —  Destruction  of  their  Crops  and  Tilla- 
ges ;  their  Revenge.  —  Pontiac  ;  his  Character  and  Plans.—  Desolations 
along  the  Frontiers.  —  General  Bouquet.  —  Pontiac's  Death. 

THE  people  of  England  were  not  indifferent  spectators  of 
these  failures  ;  they  noticed  the  feeble  manner  in  which 
175T.    the  war  was  conducted,  and  attributed  the  want  of  success 
to  the  inefficiency  of  those  in  command. 

Through  their  influence  William  Pitt,  one  of  them- 
selves, not  of  the  aristocracy,  was  called  to  the  head  of 
affairs.  He  appreciated  the  character  and  patriotism  of 
the  colonists.  Instead  of  devising  measures  that  would 
impoverish  them,  he,  at  once,  assumed  the  expenses  of  the 
war  ;  announced  that  the  money  they  had  already  spent 
for  that  purpose,  should  be  refunded,  and  that  for  the  fu- 
ture such  expenses  would  be  borne  by  the  home  govern- 
ment ;  also  arms  and  clothing  should  be  furnished  the 
soldiers  who  would  enlist.  This  act  of  justice  brought 
into  the  field  fifty  thousand  men  —  a  number  greater  than 
that  of  the  entire  male  population  of  Canada  at  that 
time. 


. 
* 


PLAN   OP   OPERATIONS.  257 

Lord  Jeffrey  Amherst  was  appointed  commander-in-   CHAP. 

chief  of  the  British  army.     He  had  for  his  lieutenant  the  '. 

young  and  talented    James  Wolfe,  who,  although  hut    1757. 
thirty-one  years  of  age,  had  spent  eighteen  of  those  years 
in  the  army,  where,  by  his  noble  bearing,  he  had  won  for 
himself  the  admiration  of  both  friends  and  foes. 

According  to  the  general  plan,  Amherst  himself  was 
to  head  the  expedition  against  Louisburg  and  Quebec  ; 
while  General  Forbes  was  to  capture  Fort  Du  Quesne  and 
take  possession  of  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  and  Abercrombie 
to  take  Ticonderoga,  the  French  stronghold  on  Lake 
Champlain.  With  Abercrombie  was  associated  Lord 
Howe,  who  was  characterized  as  the  soul  of  the  enterprise.  June, 

On  the  8th  of  June,  Amherst  landed  with  his  forces 
near  the  city  of  Louisburg.  Under  the  cover  of  a  fire 
from  the  ships  Wolfe  led  the  first  division.  He  forbade  a 
gun  to  be  fired,  urged  on  the  rowers,  and  in  the  face  of 
the  enemy  leaped  into  the  water,  and  followed  by  his  men 
waded  to  the  shore.  The  French  deserted  their  outposts, 
and  retired  to  the  fortress  in  the  town.  After  a  bombard- 
ment of  fifty  days,  when  the  French  shipping  in  the  harbor 
was  destroyed,  and  all  hopes  of  receiving  assistance  at  an 
end,  the  fortress  surrendered.  At  the  same  time  were  given 
up  the  islands  of  Cape  Breton  and  Prince  Edward,  five  27. 
thousand  prisoners,  and  an  immense  amount  of  military 
stores. 

Abercrombie  and  Lord  Howe  advanced  against  Ticon- 
deroga.    Their  army,  which  amounted  to  seven  thousand 
English  and  nine  thousand  Americans,  assembled  at  the 
head  of  Lake  George.     They  passed  in  flat-boats  down 
to  the  foot  of  the  lake,  where  they  disembarked  and  hur- 
ried on  toward  Ticonderoga ;  but  through  the  ignorance 
of  their  guide,  missed  their  way,  and   the   advance  fell    Jul}, 
into  an  ambuscade  of  a  French  scouting  party.    IFhe  ene-      6. 
my  was  soon  put  to  flight,  but  Lord  Howe  fell  at  the  head 
17 


258  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,   of  his  men.  His  death  threw  a  gloom  over  the  camp — the 

'.  soldiers  had  confidence  in  no  other  leader.     Their  fore- 

1758.  bodings  were  soon  realized.  The  British  engineer  recon- 
noitred the  French  works,  and  reported  them  as  weak  ; 
but  Stark,  who  knew  their  strength,  affirmed  they  were 
strong  and  well  furnished.  Abercrombie  believed  his  en- 
gineer, and  without  waiting  for  his  artillery,  he  ordered  an 
attack.  His  soldiers  performed  prodigies  of  valor,  but 
were  forced  to  retire,  with  a  loss  of  two  thousand  of  their 
number.  In  this  battle  was  wounded  Charles  Lee,  then 
a  captain,  and  afterward  a  major-general  in  the  Kevolu- 
tionary  army.  The  indefatigable  Montcalm  had  disposed 
his  small  army  to  the  very  best  advantage,  and  was  pres- 
ent wherever  he  was  specially  needed.  Abercrombie  or- 
dered his  men  to  attempt  an  impossibility,  but  judiciously 
kept  himself  out  of  danger.  The  English  army  was  yet 
four  to  one  of  the  French,  and  could  have  conquered  with 
the  aid  of  the  cannon 'which  had  been  brought  up,  yet 
Abercrombie  hastily  retreated.  As  Montcalm/s  troops 
were  few  and  exhausted,  he  did  not  attempt  to  pursue  him. 
The  monotony  of  disasters  was  disturbed  by  Colonel 
Bradstreet,  of  New  York,  who,  after  much  solicitation, 
obtained  permission  to  go  against  Fort  Frontenac,  which, 
from  its  position  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Ontario,  commanded 
that  lake  and  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  was  a  central  point 
for  trading  with  the  Indians  ;  a  great  magazine  which 
supplied  all  the  posts  on  the  upper  lakes  and  Ohio  with 
military  stores.  With  twenty-seven  hundred  men,  all 
Americans,  principally  from  New  York  and  Massachu- 
setts, Bradstreet  passed  rapidly  and  secretly  to  Oswego, 
and  thence  across  the  lake  in  open  boats,  and  landed 
Aug.  within  a  mile  of  the  fort.  The  majority  of  the  garrison, 
26<  terrified  at  the  sudden  appearance  of  enemies,  fled ;  the 
next  day  the  remainder  surrendered.  There  was  found 
an  immense  amount  of  military  stores,  some  of  them  des- 
tined for  Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  a  fleet  of  nine  armed  ves- 


THE    HIGHLANDERS   ROUTED.  259 

sels,  which  held  the  command  of  the  lake.     The  fort  was   CHAR 

razed  to  its  foundation,  two  of  the  vessels  were  laden  with  1 

stores  and  brought  to  Oswego  ;  the  remaining  stores  and    1758. 
ships  were  destroyed. 

The  troops  raised  in  Pennsylvania  for  the  expedition 
under  General  Forbes  against  Fort  Du  Quesne  were  as- 
sembled at  Kaystown,  on  the  Juniata.  Washington  was 
at  Cumberland,  with  the  Virginia  regiment.  His  plan 
was  to  march  directly  upon  the  fort  by  the  road  which 
Braddock  had  made.  This  common-sense  plan  was  re- 
jected, and  the  suggestions  of  some  land  speculators 
adopted,  and  Forbes  ordered  a  new  road  to  be  cut  through 
the  wilderness  further  north. 

General  Bouquet  with  the  advance  passed  over  the 
Laurel  Hill,  and  established  a  post  at  Loyal  Hanna. 
Without  permission  he  despatched  Major  Grant  with 
eight  hundred  Highlanders  and  a  company  of  Virginians 
to  reconnoitre  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Du  Quesne.  Grant  Sept. 
was  permitted  to  approach  unmolested,  though  the  French  15- 
knew  from  their  scouts  of  all  his  movements.  As  he 
drew  near,  he  sent  a  party  to  take  a  plan  of  the  fort,  and 
placed  Major  Lewis  with  the  Virginians  to  guard  the  bag- 
gage, as  if  they  were  not  to  be  trusted  in  the  contest. 
Not  a  gun  was  fired  from  the  fort.  Grant  self-compla- 
cently  attributed  this  to  the  dread  his  regulars  had  in- 
spired. All  this  time  the  Indians  lay  quietly  in  ambush, 
waiting  for  the  signal  to  commence  the  attack.  Presently 
out  rushed  the  garrison,  and  attacked  the  Highlanders  in 
front,  while  in  a  moment  the  fearful  war-whoop  arose  on 
both  flanks.  Terrified  at  the  unusual  contest,  they  were 
thrown  into  confusion  ;  their  bewildered  officers  began  to 
manoeuvre  them  as  if  in  the  open  field.  Major  Lewis 
with  some  of  his  party  hastened  to  the  rescue,  and  there 
fought  hand  to  hand  with  the  savages.  The  detachment, 
overpowered  by  numbers,  was  completely  routed,  and 


I 


260  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


CHAP.  G-rant  and  Lewis  were  both  made  prisoners.     Trie  fugi- 
'    tives  soon  reached  the  place  where  they  left  the  baggage. 

1758.  Captain  Bullit  hastily  formed  a  barricade  with  the  wag- 
ons, behind  which  he  waited  the  approach  of  the  pursuers. 
When  they  were  within  a  few  yards,  the  Virginians  poured 
in  a  fire  so  direct  and  deadly  as  to  check  them.  They 
soon  rallied  and  again  approached.  This  time,  Captain 
Bullit  and  his  men  advanced,  as  if  to  surrender,  but  when 
within  eight  yards  he  again  poured  in  an  effective  fire,  and 
immediately  charged  bayonet.  The  pursuers  were  so  as- 
tonished at  the  suddenness  and  inanner  of  attack  that 
they  fled  in  dismay,  while  the  Virginians  retreated  with 
all  speed. 

When  the  news  of  .this  disaster  reached  the  main 
army,  it  well-nigh  ruined  the  whole  enterprise  ;  as  a  coun- 
cil of  war  decided  to  give  up  the  attempt  for  that  year, 
as  it  was  now  November,  and  there  were  yet  fifty  miles  of 
unbroken  forest  between  them  and  the  fort.  Just  then 
some  prisoners  were  brought  in,  from  whom  the  defence- 
less condition  of  the  fort  was  learned.  Washington  was 
given  the  command  of  a  division  with  which  to  push  for- 
ward. In  a  few  days  they  arrived  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Du  Quesne.  Instead  of  meeting  with  a  vigorous  resist- 
ance, they  were  surprised  to  learn  that  the  place  had  been 
abandoned  the  day  before.  The  French  commander  had 
blown  up  his  magazines,  burned  every  building  that  would 
burn,  and  with  his  company  gone  on  board  of  flat-boats 

NOVt  and  floated  down  the  Ohio.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  No- 
25.  vember,  Washington  marched  into  the  deserted  fort,  and 
planted  the  English  colors.  An  impulse  of  grateful  feel- 
ing changed  the  name  to  Fort  Pitt — since  PITTSBUKG,  in 
honor  of  the  illustrious  man — the  first  of  English  states- 
men, who  appreciated  the  character  of  the  American  colo- 
nists, and  who  was  willing  to  do  them  justice.  Situated 
at  the  head  of  the  Ohio,  in  a  region  celebrated  for  its  agri- 
cultural and  mineral  wealth,  and  settled  by  a  moral  and 


PLAN  OF  OPERATIONS  AGAINST  CANADA.  261 


industrious  population,  it  has  far  exceeded  in  importance 
any  other  acquisition  made  during  the  war.  A  fit  monu- 
ment  to  the  memory  of  the  "  Great  Commoner."  1758. 

The  object  of  the  campaign  thus  secured,  Washington, 
leaving  two  Virginia  regiments  to  garrison  the  fort,  re- 
signed his  commission,  and  retired  to  private  life.  In  the 
mean  time  he  had  been  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses.  A  few  months  afterward,  on  the  opening  of 
the  session,  the  House,  by  vote,  resolved  to  receive  the 
youthful  champion  with  some  befitting  manifestation  of 
its  regard.  Accordingly,  when  he  took  his  seat  as  a  mem- 
ber, the  Speaker  addressed  him,  giving  him  thanks  for  the 
military  services  he  had  rendered  his  country.  Taken  by 
surprise,  Washington  rose  to  reply,  but  words  were  want- 
ing ;  he  faltered  and  blushed.  "  Sit  down,  Mr.  Washing- 
ton," kindly  said  the  Speaker ;  "  your  modesty  equals 
your  valor,  and  that  surpasses  the  power  of  any  language 
I  possess." 

This  year  closed  with  great  advantages  to  the  English. 
The  cunning  Indians — still  true  to  the  winning  side — be- 
gan to  desert  the  French,  and  to  form  treaties  of  peace  or 
neutrality  with  their  enemies.  The  comprehensive  mind 
of  Pitt  was  devising  plans  to  crush  the  French  power  in 
America.  He  promptly  paid  all  the  expenses  incurred  by 
the  colonists  during  the  past  year,  and  they  with  alacrity 
entered  into  his  schemes.  Wolfe  was  to  ascend  the  St. 
Lawrence  ;  Amherst  was  to  advance  by  way  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  and  capture  Montreal,  and  then  join  Wolfe  before 
Quebec  ;  while  General  Prideaux  was  to  capture  Fort  Ni- 
agara, and  then  to  pass  down  Lake  Ontario  to  Montreal. 

As  Amherst  advanced  against  Ticonderoga,  the  French    1T59. 
abandoned  that  post,  and  the  others  as  he  approached  ;        y* 
he  wasted  his  time  in  fortifying  the  places  deserted  by  the 
enemy,  as  if  they  who  were  so  exhausted  as  to  be  scarcely 
able  to  get  out  of  his  way,  would  ever  return  !     Though 
General  Prideaux  was  unfortunately  killed  by  the  burst- 


« 


1 


262    ,  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

-*    ** 

(xxm    *n^>  °"^  a  ^un?  ye*  *^r  William  Johnson,  on  whom  the  com- 

mand  devolved,  took  Niagara  ;  and  thus  the  chain  which 

1759.   joined  the  French  forts  of  Canada,  with  those  of  the  val- 
ley of  the  Mississippi,  was  broken  forever. 

June  The  fleet  and  troops  designed  against  Quebec,  assem- 
2 *'  bled  at  Louisburg.  In  the  latter  part  of  June  the  arma- 
ment arrived  at  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  upon  which  the  troops 
immediately  landed.  The  rock  on  which  stood  the  citadel 
of  St.  Louis,  could  be  seen  to  the  west  looming  up  more 
than  three  hundred  feet,  bidding  defiance  to  the  invaders. 
In  the  rear  were  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  a  plain  extend- 
ing for  miles,  while  all  along  the  shore  the  high  cliffs 
seemed  to  be  an  impregnable  defence. 

To  meet  this  force,  Montcalm  had  only  a  few  enfeebled 
battalions  and  Canadian  militia.  The  Indians  held  them- 
selves aloof.  The  English  fleet  consisted  of  twenty-two 
ships  of  the  line,  and  as  many  frigates.  As  master  of  one 
of  these  ships  was  Captain  James  Cook,  afterward  cele- 
brated as  the  discoverer  of  the  many  isles  of  the  Pacific. 
Under  Wolfe  were  four  young  and  ardent  commanders, 
Eobert  Monckton,  afterward  governor  of  New  York ; 
George  Townshend,  and  James  Murray,  and  also  Colonel 
Howe,  afterward  Sir  William,  who  for  a  time  commanded 
the  British  army  in  the  American  Kevolution. 

Quebec,  situated  on  a  peninsula  between  the  St.  Law- 
rence and  the  river  St.  Charles,  was  defended  on  three 
sides  by  these  rivers,  leaving  only  the  west  exposed.  The 
lower  town  was  on  the  beach,  while  the  upper  was  on  the 
cliff  two  hundred  feet  above.  The  high  cliffs  of  the  north 
shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence  were  deemed  a  sufficient  de- 
fence. It  was  thought  impossible  for  an  army  to  scale 
them.  Below  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  between  the  St. 
Charles  and  the  Montmorenci  rivers,  was  Montcalm's 
camp,  guarded  by  many  floating  batteries  and  ships  of 
war.  But  the  naval  superiority  of  the  English  soon  ren- 
dered them  masters  on  the  water. 


THE  RESOLVE  TO  SCALE  THE  HEIGHTS.  263 


The  French  troops  were  driven  from  Point  Levi,  di-   CHAP. 

rectly  opposite  Quebec,  and  Wolfe  erected  batteries  on  1 

that  spot,  and  began  to  bombard  the  lower  town,  which  1759. 
was  soon  reduced  to  ashes  ;  but  owing  to  the  distance,  the 
fortress  and  the  upper  town  could  not  be  injured.  Wolfe 
then  passed  over  to  the  north  side  of  the  river,  below  the 
Montmorenci,  intending  to  pass  that  stream,  and  force 
Montcalm  to  a  battle. 

When  this  design  was  carried  into  effect,  the  first 
division,  consisting  of  the  grenadiers,  rashly  rushed  on  to 
storm  the  French  lines  before  the  second  division  could 
come  up  to  support  them.  They  were  repulsed,  with  a 
loss  of  nearly  five  hundred  men.  Diversions  were  also 
made  above  the  town  to  induce  the  enemy  to  come  into 
the  open  field,  but  without  success.  Montcalm  merely 
sent  De  Bougainville  with  fifteen  hundred  men  to  guard 
against  these  attacks. 

The  repulse  at  Montmorenci  occasioned  the  sensitive 
Wolfe  much  suffering.  He  looked  for  the  tardy  Amherst, 
but  in  vain  !  No  tidings  came  from  him,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  the  enterprise,  the  first  under  his  own  command, 
was  about  to  fail.  He  was  thrown  into  a  violent  fever  by 
his  anxiety.  As  a  last  resort,  it  was  resolved,  in  a  coun- 
cil held  around  his  bed,  to  scale  the  Heights  of  Abraham. 
In  order  to  do  this,  the  French  must  be  deceived.  There- 
fore Captain  Cook  was  sent  to  take  soundings  and  place 
buoys  opposite  Montcalm's  camp,  as  if  that  was  to  be  the 
special  object  of  attack.  Meantime,  the  shore  for  many 
miles  above  the  town,  was  carefully  examined.  At  one 
place  was  found  a  little  indentation  in  the  bank,  from 
which  a  path  wound  up  the  cliff, — there  they  determined 
to  make  the  attempt.  This  is  now  known  as  Wolfe's  Cove. 
The  troops  were  put  on  shipboard  and  suddenly  sailed  up 
the  river,  as  if  intending  to  pass  beyond  the  French  lines 
and  there  land.  At  night  the  ships  lay  to,  and  the  troops, 
in  boats,  dropped  down  with  the  tide  to  Wolfe's  Cove,  fol- 

• 


264  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


CHAP,  lowed  by  the  ships  designed  to  cover  their  landing,  if  neces- 

\  sary.     As  they  passed,  a  French  sentinel  hailed  them  with 

1759.  the  inquiry,  "  Who  goes  there  ?  "  "  La  France,"  answer- 
ed a  captain.  "  What  regiment  ?  "  "  The  Queen's  "—that 
being  one  of  the  regiments  up  the  river  with  Bougainville. 
The  sentinel  was  deceived.  They  passed  on  to  the  Cove, 
and  quietly  landing  began  to  grope  their  way  up  the  cliff, 
clinging  to  the  shrubs  and  rocks  for  support.  In  the 
morning  the  entire  army  was  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham, 
ready  for  battle. 

g    t  Montcalm  was  thunderstruck,  when  he  heard  the  news. 

3.  "  It  must  surely  be,"  said  he,  "  a  small  party  come  to 
pillage,  and  then  retire."  More  correct  information  re- 
vealed to  him  the  whole  truth.  There  was  no  time  to  be 
lost.  He  sent  immediately  for  the  detachment  of  Bou- 
gainville, which  was  fifteen  miles  up  the  river.  The 
Indians  and  Canadians  advanced  first,  and  subjected  the 
English  to  an  irregular,,  and  galling  fire.  Wolfe  ordered 
his  men  to  reserve  their  fire  for  the  French  regulars,  who 
were  rapidly  approaching.  When  they  were  within  forty 
yards,  the  English  poured  upon  them  a  stream  of  musket- 
ry, aided  by  grape-shot  from  a  few  guns  dragged  up  the 
cliff  by  the  sailors.  It  was  a  fierce  conflict.  The  respect- 
ive commanders  were  opposite  to  each  other.  Wolfe,  al- 
though wounded  twice,  continued  to  give  his  orders  with 
clearness  ;  but  as  he  advanced  with  the  grenadiers,  who 
were  to  make  their  final  charge  with  the  bayonet,  he  re- 
ceived a  ball  in  the  breast.  He  knew  the  wound  was 
mortal,  and  when  falling  said  to  the  officer  nearest  to 
him  :  "  Let  not  my  brave  fellows  see  me  fall."  He  was 
carried  to  the  rear  ;  when  asked  if  he  would  have  a  sur- 
geon, he  answered  :  "  It  is  needless  ;  it  is  all  over  with 
me."  As  his  life  was  fast  ebbing,  the  cry  was  raised — 
"  See,  they  run  !  they  run  ! "  "  Who  run  !  "  asked  the 
dying  man.  "  The  enemy,  sir,"  was  the  answer.  "  Do 
they  run  already  ?  "  he  asked  with  evident  surprise.  Sum- 


* 


I 


WOLFE  AND   MONTCALM.  265 


moning  his  failing  energies,  "  Go  one  of  you,  to  Colonel  CHAP. 

Burton,"  said  he  ;  "  tell  him  to  march  Webb's  regiment  1 

with  all  speed  down  to  Charles  river,  to  cut  off  the  retreat  1T59. 
by  the  bridge/'  Then  turning  upon  his  side,  he  mur- 
mured,  "  Now  God  be  praised,  I  die  happy."  These  were 
the  last  words  of  th$  young  hero,  in  whom  were  centred 
the  hopes  of  his  soldiers  and  of  his  country.  Monckton 
was  severely  wounded,  and  the  command  devolved  upon 
Townshend,  who,  content  with  being  master  of  the  field, 
called  the  troops  from  the  pursuit.  Just  at  the  close  of 
the  battle  Bougainville  appeared  with  his  division ;  but 
the  contest  was  declined. 

There  is  a  peculiar  interest  attached  to  the  name  and 
character  of  Wolfe.  A  mind  sensitive  in  its  emotions  and 
vigorous  in  its  thoughts,  animated  his  feeble  body.  He 
maintained  a  love  for  the  quieter  paths  of  literature,  even 
amid  the  excitements  of  the  camp.  On  the  clear  star- 
light night  preceding  the  battle,  as  the  boat  in  which  he 
was  seated  with  his  officers  was  silently  floating  down  the 
St.  Lawrence,  he  recited  to  them  that  classic  poem, 
Gray's  "  Elegy  in  a  Country  Church-yard ; "  then  just 
published.  Death  seems  to  have  already  cast  his  dark 
shadow  upon  him,  and  doubtless  many  of  the  finer  pas- 
sages of  the  poem  were  in  accordance  with  his  subdued  and 
melancholy  emotions.  Then  for  a  time  the  aspirations 
of  the  man  of  feeling  and  poetic  taste  triumphed  over  the 
sterner  ambition  of  the  warrior,  and  at  its  close  he  ex- 
claimed :  "  I  would  rather  be  the  author  of  that  poem 
than  to  take  Quebec  to-morrow." 

The  brave  and  generous  Montcalm  was  mortally 
wounded  near  the  close  of  the  battle.  When  carried  into 
the  city,  the  surgeon  informed  him  that  he  "could  survive 
only  a  few  hours.  "  So  much  the  better,"  he  calmly  re- 
plied, "  I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  surrender  of  Quebec." 
When  asked  his  advice  about  defending  the  city,  he  an- 


266  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,   swered :  "  To   your  keeping  I   commend  the  honor  of 

!  France.     I  will  neither  give  orders  nor  interfere  any  fur- 

1759.  ther ;  I  have  business  of  greater  moment  to  attend  to  ; 
my  time  is  short  ;  I  shall  pass  this  night  with  God,  and 
prepare  myself  for  death."  He  then  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
English  commander,  commending  to  his  favor  the  French 
prisoners.  The  next  morning  he  died.  That  generation 
passed  away,  and  with  it  the  animosity  which  existed  be- 
tween the  conquerors  and  the  conquered.  The  united 
people  of  another  generation  erected  a  granite  monument, 
on  which  they  inscribed  the  names  of  Montcalm  and 
Wolfe. 

Sept.  Five  days  after  the  battle  Quebec  surrendered.  There 
were  great  rejoicings  both  in  America  and  England. 
Praises  were  lavished  upon  Pitt.  He  in  Parliament  re- 
plied, "  I  will  aim  to  serve  my  country,  but  the  more  a 
man  is  versed  in  business,  the  more  he  finds  the  hand  of 
Providence  everywhere."  ,.  The  next  year  an  attempt  was 
made  by  the  French  to  recover  Quebec,  but  it  failed.  An 
overwhelming  force  was  brought  against  Montreal.  Ke- 
sistance  was  vain,  and  Vaudreuil,  the  governor,  surren- 
dered all  the  French  stations  on  the  Lakes.  The  troops 
were  to  be  sent  home,  and  the  Canadians,  protected  in 
their  property,  were  to  enjoy  their  religious  privileges. 
Thus  passed  away  the  French  power  in  Canada.  Depend- 
ents upon  the  mother  country,  the  inhabitants  had  never 
exercised  the  right  of  self-government ;  they  lacked  the 
energy  essential  to  success  as  an  independent  people. 
They  have  assimilated  but  little  with  their  conquerors. 
They  still  preserve  that  gay  simplicity  of  manners,  so 
characteristic  of  their  nation,  and  an  ardent  attachment 
to  the  church  of  their  fathers. 

Meantime  disturbances  had  occurred  on  the  south- 
west. The  Cherokees  had  always  been  the  friends  of  the 
English,  and  had  undertaken  to  protect  the  frontiers  south 
of  the  Potomac,  yet  for  this  their  warriors,  when  about  to 


WAR   WITH   THE    CHEROKEES.  267 


return  home,  received  no  reward  from  trie  government —  CHAP. 

not  even  supplies  of  food  for  their  journey.     What  the  ] 

State  failed  to  do  was  done  by  Washington  and  his  offi-  1758. 
cers,  who  supplied  their  wants.  The  next  year  more 
Cherokees  joined  the  expedition  under  Forbes  against 
Fort  Du  Quesne.  X  As  they  were  returning  home  along 
the  western  borders  of  Virginia,  to  avoid  starvation  they 
helped  themselves  to  what  they  wanted.  This  led  to 
quarrels  with  the  backwoodsmen,  who  killed  and  scalped 
some  of  their  number^  When  this  was  told  in  the  land 
of  the  Cherokees,  it  caused  sorrow,  indignation,  and  alarm  ; 
the  women,  relatives  of  those  who  were  slain,  poured  forth 
deep  and  bitter  wailings  for  the  dead  ;  the  young  warriors, 
indignant,  armed  themselves  for  revenge  ;  the  old  men 
cautioned  and  counselled,  and  did  all  in  their  power  to 
prevent  war,  but  in  vain  ;  two  white  men  fell  victims  to  the 
rage  of  the  young  warriors.  Tiftoe  and  five  other  chieftains 
went  to  Charleston  to  beg  for  peace,  and  to  heal  differ- 
ences. The  governor,  the  haughty  and  arbitrary  Lyttle- 
ton,  demanded  that  the  young  men  who,  according  to  the  Oct. 
ideas  of  the  sons  of  the  forest,  had  vindicated  the  honor 
of  their  nation,  "  should  be  delivered  up  or  put  to  death 
in  their  own  land."  This,  the  Cherokees  thought,  would 
only  add  fuel  to  the  flame  already  kindled.  The  legislature 
decided  unanimously  that  there  was  no  cause  for  war. 
News  came  from  the  frontier  that  all  was  peaceful ; 
"  there  were  no  bad  talks."  The  obstinate  governor  per- 
sisted in  his  demand,  and  created  more  disturbance.  Then 
he  told  the  chiefs  who  wished  for  peace  to  come  to  him 
and  hold  a  talk,  and  promised  them  safe  conduct  to  and 
from  Charleston.  Trusting  to  his  word,  the  great  warrior 
Oconostata  came  with  thirty  others.  But  Lyttleton  must 
obtain  for  himself  the  glory  of  a  successful  expedition 
against  the  Cherokees.  He  called  out  the  militia  in  spite 
of  the  remonstrances  of  the  people,  of  the  legislature,  and 
of  his  own  council,  and  basely  retained  as  prisoners,  those 


268  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.   wno  Lad  trusted  his  word.     He  marched  into  the  country 

of  the  Cherokees,  forced  a  treaty  from  a  feeble  old  chief, 

1759.  who  had  no  authority  to  make  one,  and  then  returned  in 
fancied  triumph.  Oconostata  and  a  few  others  were  lib- 
erated. The  remainder  Lyttleton  ordered  to  be  kept  pris- 
oners at  Fort  Prince  George  till  twenty-four  warriors 
should  be  given  up  to  him.  Oconostata  made  an  attempt 
to  liberate  his  friends.  In  this  effort  a  white  man  was 
killed  ;  then,  in  revenge,  the  garrison  murdered  the  pris- 
oners. Now  the  rage  of  the  Cherokees  knew  no  bounds. 
They  exclaimed  :  "  The  spirits  of  our  murdered  brothers 
are  flying  around  us  screaming  for  vengeance."  The  leg- 
islature strongly  condemned  the  perfidious  conduct  of 
Lyttleton,  and  asserted  their  "  birth-rights  as  British 
subjects,"  and  affirmed  that  he  had  "  violated  their  un- 
doubted privileges."  Yet  this  very  man  received  the 
highest  commendations  from  the  "  Board  of  Trade." 

The  Cherokees,  driven  to  desperation  by  such  treat- 
ment, called  to  their  aid  the  Muscogees,  and  sent  to 
Louisiana  for  military  supplies.  The  Carolinians  applied 
to  General  Amherst,  who  sent  them  twelve  hundred 
17-50.  rnen,  principally  Highlanders,  under  General  Montgomery. 
They,  with  the  Carolinians,  pressed  forward,  by  forced 
marches,  into  the  land  of  the  Cherokees.  Why  give  the 
details  of  desolated  settlements  ?  Village  after  village 
was  destroyed,  and  fertile  valleys  laid  waste.  On  the 
upper  Savannah  was  the  beautiful  vale  of  Keowee,  "  the 
delight  of  the  Cherokees."  They  had  become  so  far  civil- 
ized as  to  build  comfortable  houses,  and  to  surround  them 
with  cultivated  fields.  Suddenly  appeared  the  invaders. 
The  great  majority  of  the  Indians,  after  an  attempt  at 
defence,  fled,  and  from  the  distant  mountain-tops  saw  the 
enemy  burning  their  houses  and  destroying  their  crops. 
"  I  cannot  help  pitying  them  a  little,"  writes  Colonel 
Grant ;  "  their  villages  are  agreeably  situated,  their  houses 


K1  •   \ 

* 


PONTIAC.  269 

neatly  built.     There  were  everywhere  astonishing  maga-   CHAP. 
zines  of  corn,  which  were  all  consumed."  [ 

After  this  dash  at  the  Cherokees,  Montgomery  imme-    1760. 
diately  returned  to  the  north,  as  ordered  by  Amherst. 
The  Indians  were  not  subdued,  but  enraged ;  they  con- 
tinued to  ravage  the  back  settlements  of  the  Carolinas. 

Immediately  after  the  surrender  of  Canada,  all  the  1763. 
French  stations  on  the  lakes  were  occupied  by  the  con- 
querors, and  the  little  stockade  posts  throughout  all  that 
region,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  were  garrisoned  by 
a  few  men,  in  many  instances  not  exceeding  twenty.  The 
French,  either  as  traders  or  as  religious  teachers,  had  won 
the  confidence  and  the  affection  of  the  Indians,  by  a 
friendly  intercourse  extending  through  more  than  half  a 
century.  Was  it  strange  that  the  contrast  appeared 
great  to  them,  between  these  friends  and  companions  and 
the  domineering  English  soldiers,  who  insulted  their  priests 
and  vilified  their  religion  ?  The  French  had  prohibited 
the  trade  in  rum,  but  the  English  introduced  the  traffic, 
and  the  demoralization  of  the  Indians  commenced.  The 
capture  of  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  the  signal  for  a  torrent 
of  emigration,  which  poured  over  the  mountains  into  the 
valleys  of  the  Monongahela  and  AUeghany.  The  Indians 
feared  the  pale-faces  would  drive  them  from  their  homes. 

Adopted  into  the  tribe  of  the  Ottawas,  was  a  Catawba, 
who  had  been  brought  from  the  South  as  a  prisoner,  but 
who  had,  by  his  genius  and  bravery,  risen  to  be  a  chief.  He 
had  the  most  unbounded  influence  over  his  own  and  other 
tribes,  and  was  styled  "  the  king  and  lord  of  all  the  coun- 
try of  the  north-west."  "  How  dare  you  come  to  visit  my 
country  without  my  leave  ?  "  demanded  he  of  the  first  Eng- 
lish officer  who  came  to  take  possession  of  the  French  forts. 
Such  was  Pontiac,  the  Philip  of  the  north-west,  who,  in 
the  war  which  bears  his  name,  made  the  last  great  strug- 
gle for  the  independence  of  the  Ked  Man.  This  master 
spirit  planned,  and  partially  executed,  one  of  the  most 


270  HISTOEY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAR    comprehensive  schemes  ever  conceived  by  Indian  sagacity 

to  expel  the  invaders,  and  maintain  his  own  authority  as 

1763.  "  king  and  lord  "  of  all  that  region.  He  induced  the  Del- 
awares,  the  Shawnees,  the  Senecas,  the  Miamis,  and  many 
lesser  tribes,  who  roamed  over  the  vast  region  in  the  basin 
of  the  upper  lakes,  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  and  a  portion 
of  that  of  the  Mississippi,  to  join  in  the  conspiracy.  He 
sent  a  prophet  through  the  land  to  proclaim  that  the 
Great  Spirit  had  revealed  to  him,  "  that  if  the  English 
were  permitted  to  dwell  in  their  midst,  then  the  white 
man's  diseases  and  poisons  would  utterly  destroy  them." 
This  conspiracy  was  more  than  a  year  in  forming,  yet  it 
was  kept  a  profound  secret. 

DETROIT  had  the  largest  garrison,  was  the  great  centre 
for  the  trade  of  the  upper  lakes,  and  most  important  in 
its  influence.  Here  the  French  were  numerous  ;  they 
tilled  their  farms,  as  well  as  engaged  in  the  traffic  of  furs. 
Pontiac  desired  to  obtain  possession  of  the  fort.  He  inti- 
mated that  he  was  coming  with  his  warriors  to  have  a 
"  talk"  with  his  English  brothers.  Meantime,  Gladwin, 
the  commander,  had  learned  of  the  conspiracy.  Finding 
that  the  plot  was  discovered,  Pontiac  threw  off  the  mask, 
and  boldly  attacked  the  fort,  but  without  success.  This 
was  the  commencement  of  a  series  of  surprises  ;  the  In- 
dians, in  the  short  space  of  three  weeks,  captured  every 
Station  west  of  Niagara,  except  Detroit  and  Pittsburg. 
The  soldiers  of  the  garrisons  were  nearly  all  put  to  death, 
more  than  one  hundred  traders  were  murdered  and  scalped 
in  the  wilderness,  and  more  than  five  hundred  families, 
after  losing  hundreds  of  their  members,  were  driven  from 
their  homes  on  the  frontiers.  A  large  force  from  several 
tribes  concentrated  around  Pittsburg,  the  most  important 
post  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  ;  yet  the  brave  garrison 
could  not  be  caught  by  their  wiles,  nor  conquered  by  their 
arms.  Their  ravages,  in  the  mean  while,  extended  to  all 


INDIANS   DEFEATED — PITTSBURG   RELIEVED.  2*71 

the  settlements  and  posts  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Ohio,  CHAP. 

and  on  the  lakes  to  the  region  between  the  Mississippi  1 

and  the  Ohio.  1763. 

General  Bouquet  was  sent  from  Eastern  Pennsylvania 
to  relieve  Fort  Ligonier,  just  at  the  western  foot  of  the 
mountains,  and  Pittshurg.  His  army  consisted  of  not 
more  than  five  hundred  effective  men,  principally  Scotch 
Highlanders.  They  had  with  them  a  train  of  wagons, 
drawn  by  oxen,  and  pack-horses  laden  with  military  stores 
and  necessary  provisions,  and  a  drove  of  beef  cattle. 
Passing  through  a  region  desolated  by  the  savages,  they 
saw  the  remains  of  burnt  cabins,  and  the  harvests  stand- 
ing uncut  in  the  fields. 

When  he  arrived  at  Ligonier,  Bouquet  could  learn 
nothing  from  the  west,  as  all  intercourse  had  been  cut  off. 
Leaving  there  his  wagons  and  cattle,  he  pushed  forward 
to  ascertain  the  fate  of  Pittsburg.  The  Indians  besieging 
that  place,  heard  of  his  approach,  and  they  resolved  to 
place  themselves  in  ambush,  and  defeat  his  army.  As 
soon  as  the  battle  began,  the  Highlanders  dashed  at  them 
with  the  bayonet,  and  the  Indians  fled  ;  but  when  the 
pursuit  slackened  they  rallied,  and  were  again  reptftsed. 
At  length,  the  number  of  the  savages  increased  so  much 
that  they  completely  surrounded  the  Highlanders,  who, 
during  the  night,  encamped  on  the  ridge  of  a  hill.  In  the 
morning  they  could  not  advance,  for  their  wounded  men 
and  baggage  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Placing  two  companies  in  ambush,  Bouquet  began  to  re- 
treat, and  immediately,  with  exulting  yells,  the  Indians 
rushed  on  in  pursuit,  but  when  they  came  to  the  right 
point,  those  in  ambush  charged  them  on  both  sides,  and 
those  retreating  wheeled  and  charged  also.  Panic-stricken 
by  the  suddenness  of  the  attack,  the  savages  broke  and 
fled.  The  division  then  moved  on  to  Pittsburg.  From 
that  day  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  was  free  from  Indian  vio- 


272  HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  lence.  The  stream  of  emigration  began  again  to  pour 

over  the  mountains.  The  tribes,  disheartened,  began  to 

1764.  make  treaties  and  promise  peace.  Pontiac  would  make 

no  treaty,  nor  acknowledge  himself  a  friend  of  the  English. 

He  left  his  home  and  tribe  and  went  to  the  country  of  the 

Illinois,  where  he  perished  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  who 

was  hired  for  the  purpose. 


£«# 

* 
I 


• 


•'. 


-**  *^l 

• 

r 

iM 

CHAPTEK    XXIV. 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  COLONISTS. 

Religious  Influences  among  the  earlier  Settlers. — The  later  Emigrants ;  their 
Influence. — Love  of  domestic  Life. — L^iws  enjoining  Morality. — Sys- 
tems of  Education  ;  Common  Schools.— John  Calvin.— The  Southerner ; 
the  Northerner. — The  Anglo-Saxon  Element ;  the  Norman. — Influences 
in  Pennsylvania  ;  in  New  York. — Diversity  of  Ancestry. 

THE  conquest  of  Canada  had  removed  apprehensions  of   CHAP. 

XXIV 

war  with  France,  or  of  incursions  by  the  Indians.     The  ^ 

colonists  naturally  turned  to  their  own-affairs.  They  1760. 
were  poor  and  in  debt ;  a  seven  years'  war  fiad  been  within 
their  borders  ;  their  men  had  been  drawn  from  the  labor 
of  industry  to  the  battle-fie]d.  Yet  that  war,  with  its 
evils,  had  conferred  benefits.  It  had  made  known  to  them 
their  strength,  and  success  had  given  them  confidence. 

Before  relating  the  events  that  led  to  the  Kevolution, 
let  us  take  a  rapid  survey  of  the  people,  who  were  soon  to 
take  their  place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

From  the  first  they  were  an  intelligent  and  a  religious 
people.  They  were  untrammelled  in  the  exercise  of  their 
religion,  and  its  spirit  moulded  public  sentiment  in  all 
the  colonies,  whether  settled  by  the  Puritan  or  the  Church- 
man, by  the  Dutch  Calvinist  or  the  Quaker,  by  the 
Huguenot  or  the  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterian.  The  two 
lat'  7ere  of  more  recent  emigration  ;  they  did  not  di- 
n  j.  the  high  tone  of  morals  already  sustained  by  the 
ear"  settlers. 

18 

* 


*  # 


274  HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP.         The  Huguenots  came  in  small  companies,  and  seldom 

'_  settled  together  in  large  numbers,  but  mingled  with  the 

1760.  colonists,  and  conformed  more  and  more  to  their  customs, 
and,  in  time,  became  identified  with  them  in  interests. 
Calvinists  in  doctrine,  they  generally  united  with  either 
the  Episcopal  or  Presbyterian  churches,  and  by  their  piety 
and  industrious  habits  exerted  an  influence  that  amply 
repaid  the  genuine  hospitality  with  which  they  were  every- 
where received. 

The  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  displayed  the  indomi- 
table energy  and  perseverance  of  their  ancestors,  with  the 
same  morality  and  love  of  their  church.  Even  those  who 
took  post  on  the  outskirts  of  civilization  along  the  western 
frontiers  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  North 
Carolina,  had  their  pastor,  and  trained  their  children  in 
Bible  truth,  in  the  catechism,  obedience  to  parents, — 
a  wholesome  doctrine  practically  enforced  by  all  the  colo- 
nists,— and  reverence  for  the  Sabbath  and  its  sacred  duties. 
They  were  a  'people  decided  in  their  character.  They 
emigrated  from  their  native  land  to  enjoy  civil  and  relig- 
ious privileges,  but  they  had  also  an  eye  to  the  improve- 
ment of  their  temporal  affairs. 

^  The  endearments  of  home  and  of  the  domestic  fireside 

had  charms  for  the  colonists  of  every  creed.  The  educa- 
tion of  their  children  was  deemed  a  religious  duty,  while 
around  their  households  clustered  the  comforts  and  many 
of  the  refinements  of  the  times.  The  example  of  their 
ancestors,  who  had  sought  in  the  wilderness  an  asylum, 
where  they  might  enjoy  their  religion,  had  not  been  in 
vain  ;  a  traditionary  religious  spirit  had  come  down  from 
those  earlier  days,  and  now  pervaded  the  minds  of  the 
people. 

Though  there, was  neither  perfect  uniformity  in  their 
forms  of  worship,  nor  in  their  interpretation  of  religious 
doctrines,  yet  one  sentiment  was  sacred  in  the  eyes  of  ah1 — 
a  reverence  for  the  day  of  Holy  Eest.  The  influences 


LAWS   ENJOINING    MORALITY.  275 

connected  with  the  Sabbath,  and  impressed  from  week  to   CHAP. 

week,  penetrated  their  inner  life,  and  like  an  all-pervading  1 

moral   antiseptic    preserved,  in  its  purity,  the  religious    1760. 
character  of  the  entire  people. 

The  laws  of  a  people  may  be  taken  as  the  embodiment 
of  their  sentiments.  Those  enacted  by  our  forefathers 
may  excite  a  smile,  yet  they  show  that  they  were  no  time- 
servers — that  they  were  conscientious  and  in  earnest. 

In  New  England  the  laws  noticed  those  who  dressed 
more  richly  than  their  wealth  would  justify  ;  they  would 
not  permit  the  man  who  defrauded  his  creditors  to  live  in 
luxury  ;  those  who  did  not  vote,  or  would  not  serve  when 
elected  to  office,  they  fined  for  their  want  of  patriotism  ; 
they  forbade  "  drinking  of  healths  as  a  bad  habit ;  "  they 
prohibited  the  wearing  of  embroidered  garments  and  laces  ; 
they  discouraged  the  use  of  "  ribbons  and  great  boots  ;  " 
sleeves  must  reach  to  the  wrist,  and  nqt  be  more  than 
half  an  ell  wide  ;  no  one  under  twenty  years  of  age  was 
allowed  to  use  tobacco,  unless  prescribed  "fey  a  physician  ; 
those  who  used  it  publicly  were  fined  a  sixpence  ;  all  per- 
sons were  restrained  from  "  swimming  in  the  waters  on 
the  Sabbath-day,  or  unreasonably  walking  in  the  fields  or 
streets."  .  » 

In  Virginia  we  see  the  same  spirit.  In  every  settle- 
ment there  was  to  be  "a  house  for  the  worship  of  God." 
Divine  service  was  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  canons  of 
the  Church  of  England.  Absence  from  church  was  pun- 
ished by  a  fine  ;  the  wardens  were  sworn  to  report  cases 
of  "  drunkenness,  swearing,  and  other  vices."  The  drunk- 
ards were  fined,  the  swearers  also,  at  the  rate  of  "  a  shil- 
ling an  oath  ; "  slanderers  and  tale-bearers  were  punished  ; 
travelling  or  shooting  on  the  Sabbath  forbidden.  The 
minister  was  not  to  addict  himself  "  to  excess  in  drinking 
or  riot,  nor  play  cards  or  dice,  but  to  hear  or  read  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  catechize  the  children,  and  visit  the 
sick."  The  wardens  were  bound  to  report  the  masters 


*  & 

276  HISTOBY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  and  mistresses  "  who  neglected  to  catechize  the  ignorant 

persons  under  their  charge."  In  the  Carolinas  laws  of  a 

1760.  similar  character  were  enacted  ;  and,  in  Pennsylvania, 
against  "  stage  plays,  playing  of  cards,  dice,  May-games, 
masques,  and  revels." 

Although,  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  many  of 
these,  and  similar  laws  had  become  obsolete,  yet  the  influ- 
ences which  dictated  them  had,  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  been  forming  the  character  of  the  colonists.  Hedged 
in  on  the  one  side  by  the  ocean,  and  on  the  other  by 
a  howling  wilderness  filled  with  hostile  savages,  they 
acquired  a  certain  energy  of  character,  the  result  of 
watchfulness,  and  an  individuality,  which  to  this  day  dis- 
tinguishes their  descendants. 

While  emigrants  were  flocking  to  the  colonies,  these 

influences  were  somewhat  disturbed,  but  for  three-quarters 

1688.    of  a  century — since  the  great  revolution  in  England  had 

restrained  the  hand  of  oppression — emigration  had  been 

gradually  diminishing. 

Thus  uninfluenced  from  without,  the  political  and  re- 
ligious principles  with  which  they  were  imbued  had  time 
to  produce  their  fruit.  A  national  sentiment,  a  oneness 
of  feeling  among  the  people,  grew  into  vigorous  being. 
The  common  schools  of  New  England  had  exerted  their 
undivided  influence  for  almost  three  generations ;  the 
youth  left  them  with  that  conscious  self-reliance  which 
springs  spontaneously  in  the  intelligent  mind — a  pledge 
of  success  in  things  great  as  well  as  small.  These  schools, 
no  doubt,  gave  an  impulse  to  female  education.  In  the 
earlier  days  of  New  England  the  women  were  taught  to 
read,  but  very  few  to  write.  "  The  legal  papers  executed 
in  the  first  century  (of  the  colony)  by  well-to-do  women, 
were  mostly  signed  by  a  mark,  (X  )  ".*  The  custom  of 

.,., 

1  Elliott's  History  of  New  England,  vol.  i.  p.  428. 


EDUCATION — FREE    INQUIRY    AND    CIVIL   LIBERTY.  277 

settling  in  townships  or  villages  made  it  easy  to  support  j^ffi 
common  schools.  

In  the  middle  colonies,  especially  Pennsylvania  and  1760. 
New  York,  a  system  of  general  education  had  not  been 
introduced  ;  the  diversity  of  sects  prevented.  In  the 
South,  except  partially  in  Maryland,  common  schools  were 
not  adopted.  The  owners  of  slaves  usually  held  large 
tracts  of  the  best  lands,  while  the  less  wealthy  were  com- 
pelled to  retire  to  the  outskirts  of  the  settlements,  where 
they  could  obtain  farms.  The  population  was  thus  so 
much  scattered,  that  generally  children  could  not  be  con- 
centrated at  particular  places  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
sustain  schools.  Those  who,  for  want  of  means,  could  not 
employ  private  teachers,  taught  their  own  children  as  best 
they  could.  Among  this  class,  from  year  to  year,  there 
was  but  little  increase  in  general  intelligence.  The 
wealthy  employed  private  instructors,  or  sent  their  chil- 
dren abroad.  As  the  nation  increased  in  knowledge,  the 
people  cherished  the  right  to  exercise  free  thought  and 
free  speech. 

Our  ancestors  lived  not  for  themselves  alone.  With 
the  prophet's  vision,  and  the  patriot's  hope,  they  looked 
forward  to  the  day,  when  all  this  continent  would  be  un- 
der the  influence  of  their  descendants,  and  they  a  Chris- 
tian people.  Was  it  strange  they  were  self-denying  and 
in  earnest,  in  endeavoring  to  spread  the  blessings  of 
education  and  religion,  as  the  greatest  boon  they  could  *- 
transmit  to  their  posterity  ?  Thus  they  labored  to  found 
institutions  of  learning  ;  they  encouraged  the  free  ex- 
pression of  opinion.  From  the  religious  freedom  of  con- 
science, which  they  proclaimed  as  the  doctrine  of  the 
Bible,  the  transition  was  easy  to  political  freedom.  The 
advocate  of  free  inquiry  became  the  advocate  of  civil  lib- 
erty, and  the  same  stroke  which  broke  the  chain  binding 
the  word  of  God  to  the  interpretation  of  the  church,  shat- 
tered the  fetters  binding  the  political  slave. 


• 


278  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.          Much  of  this  sentiment  may  be  traced  to  the  influence 

, !  exerted  by  the  opinions  of  one  man,  John  Calvin.     "  We 

1760.  boast  of  our  common  schools,  Calvin  was  the  father  of 
popular  education,  the  inventor  of  free  schools.  The  pil- 
grims of  Plymouth  were  Calvinists  ;  the  best  influence  of 
South  Carolina  came  from  the  Calvinists  of  France.  Wil- 
liam Penn  was  the  disciple  of  the  Huguenots  ;  the  ships 
from  Holland  that  first  brought  colonists  to  Manhattan 
were  filled  with  Calvinists.  He  that  will  not  honor  the 
memory  and  respect  the  influence  of  Calvin,  knows  but 
little  of  the  origin  of  American  liberty.  He  bequeathed 
to  the  world  a  republican  spirit  in  religion,  with  the  kin- 
dred principles  of  republican  liberty."  l 

There  were  slight  differences  of  character  between  the 
people  of  the  several  colonies.  In  the  eastern,  the  diffi- 
culties arising  from  a  sterile  soil  had  made  the  people 
industrious  and  frugal.  There,  labor  was  always  honorable, 
and  when  the  day  came  "  which  tried  men's  souls,"  great 
numbers  of  the  prominent  men  came  from  the  ranks  of 
manual  labor.  The  Anglo-Saxon  element  greatly  pre- 
dominated among  the  colonists  of  New  England.  As 
simple  in  manners  as  rigid  in  morals,  a  truly  democratic 
spirit  and  love  of  liberty  pervaded  their  minds,  and  hence 
political  constitutions  of  whose  benefits  all  were  partici- 
pants. The  Norman  element  prevailed  more  in  the  South, 
especially  in  Virginia.  Here  the  wealthy  colonists  were 
more  aristocratic  in  spirit  and  feeling  ;  were  more  refined 
and  elegant  in  manners.  This  aristocratic  spirit  was  fos- 
tered, in  time,  by  the  system  of  slavery,  while  the  dis- 
tinctions in  society  arising  from  the  possession  of  wealth 
were  greatly  increased.  In  all  the  southern  colonies,  the 
mildness  of  the  climate,  the  labor  of  slaves,  and  the  ready 
sale  of  their  tobacco,  rice,  and  indigo,  made  the  acquisition 
of  wealth  comparatively  easy.  The  planter,  "  having 


1  Bancroft's  Miscellanies,  pp.  405-6. 

.*' ,  '* .. 


^^ 


*.* 

INFLUENCES   IN    PENNSYLVANIA.  279 

more  leisure,  was  more  given  to  pleasures  and  amuse-  CRAP. 
ments— to  the  sports  of  the  turf,  the  cock-pit,  the  chase,  __ 
and  the  gaming-table.  His  social  habits  often  made  him  1760. 
profuse,  and  plunged  him  in  debt  to  the  English  or  Scotch 
merchant,  who  sold  his  exported  products  and  furnished 
him  his  foreign  supplies.  He  was  often  improvident,  and 
sometimes  not  punctual  in  his  pecuniary  engagements/'  l 
The  planters  were  hospitable.  Living  upon  isolated  plan- 
tations, they  were  in  a  measure  deprived  of  social  inter- 
course ;  but  when  opportunity  served,  they  enjoyed  it 
with  a  relish.  As  the  Southerner  was  hospitable,  so  the 
Northerner  was  charitable.  From  the  hard  earnings  of  the 
farmer,  of  the  mechanic,  of  the  merchant,  of  the  seafaring 
man,  funds  were  cheerfully  given  to  support  schools,  to 
endow  colleges,  or  to  sustain  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel. 
In  the  South,  colleges  were  principally  endowed  by  royal 
grants. 

In  Pennsylvania  was  felt  the  benign  influence  of  the 
disciples  of  George  Fox,  and  its  benevolent  founder.  The 
friends  of  suffering  humanity,  the  enemies  of  war,  the 
opponents  of  classes  and  ranks  in  society  founded  on  mere 
birth,  they  recognized  merit  wherever  found.  There  the 
human  mind  was  untrammelled — conscious  of  a  right  de- 
rived from  a  higher  authority  than  conventional  law  ; 
there  public  posts  were  open  to  all — no  tests  intervened 
as  a  barrier.  At  this  time  the  ardent  aspirations  of  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  in  the  pursuit  of  science  received  the 
sympathy  of  the  people.  In  Philadelphia  he  was  the 
means  of  founding  an  academy  and  free  school,  which  grew 
into  a  university.  Here  was  founded  the  first  medical  col- 
lege in  the  colonies,  the  first  public  library,  and  the  first 
hospital.  Here,  Bartram,  the  botanist,  founded  the  first 
botanic  garden  ;  and  here  was  formed  the  American  Phil- 
osophical Society.  Here  lived  Godfrey,  the  inventor  of 
the  quadrant,  which  bears  the  name  of  Hadley. 

1  Tucker's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i,  p.  97. 

,»*!-*.•  •          *  ^ 

» 


280  ^  ^     HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP          In  New  York,  "  the  key  of  Canada  and  the  lakes/' 

_  were  blended  many  elements  of  character.     Here   com- 

1760.    merce  began  to  prevail,  and  here  the  arbitrary  laws  of  the 

Board  of  Trade  were  vigorously  opposed,  and  so  often 

eluded,  that  Holland  derived  more  benefit  from  the  trade 

^  than  England  herself.     It  cost  nearly  as  much  as  the 

amount  of  the  import  duties  to  maintain  the  cruisers  and 

the  "  Commissioners  of  Customs/'     The  "  Dutch  Kepub- 

licans  "  had  been  for  nearly  a  century  pupils  in  the  school 

where  the  "  rights  of  Englishmen  "  were  taught  ;  they 

profited  so  much  by  the  instruction,  that  they  paid  very 

little    attention  to  the  king's  prerogative,  and   thought 

their  own  Legislature  quite  as  respectable  as  the  House  of 

Commons. 

Although  the  great  majority  of  the  Americans  were 
the  descendants  of  Englishmen,  yet  there  were  represent- 
atives from  Scotland,  from  Ireland,  from  Wales,  from 
France,  from  Holland,  from  Germany,  from  Sweden,  and 
from  Denmark.  In  religion,  there  were  Churchmen  and 
Dissenters,  Quakers  and  Catholics.  Though  they  differed 
in  many  minor  points,  and  indulged  in  those  little  ani- 
mosities which  unfortunately  too  often  arise  between  peo- 
ple of  different  nations  and  religions,  yet  they  cherished  a 

f  sympathy  for  each  other.  They  were  all  attached  to  the 
mother  country  —  the  South,  perhaps,  more  than  the  North; 
the  former  had  not  experienced  so  severely  the  iron  hand 
of  royal  rule.  Some  strong  external  pressure  was  required 
to  bind  them  more  closely  together,  if  ever  they  were  to 
become  an  independent  nation.  That  external  pressure 
was  not  long  wanting. 


* 


rtr-  «w 

*-•  '*•  4-  .  *r  >*<*-*•. 


,     rf  ,T  / 

lin 
Wk 


CHAPTEK  XXV. 

CAUSES  WHICH  LED  TO  THE  REVOLUTION. 

Restrictions  of  Trade  and  Manufactures. — Taxes  imposed  by  Parliament. — 
Writs  of  Assistance. — James  Otis. — Samuel  Adams. — The  "Parsons'" 
Case  in  Virginia. — Patrick  Henry. — A  Stamp  Tax  threatened. — Colonel 
Barre's  Speech. — The  Stamp  Act. — Excitement  in  the  Colonies. — Henry 
in  the  House  of  Burgesses. — Resolutions  not  to  use  Stamps. — "  Sons 
of  Liberty." — A  Call  for  a  Congress  ;  it  meets,  and  the  Colonial  As- 
semblies approve  its  Measures. — Merchants  refuse  to  purchase  English 
Merchandise.— Self-denial  of  the  Colonists. — Pitt  defends  them. — 
Franklin  at  the  Bar  of  the  House  of  Commons. — Stamp  Act  repealed. — 
Rejoicings. — Dartmouth  College. 

THE  industrious  habits  of  the  colonists  were  no  less  wor- 
thy  of  notice  than  their  moral  traits.  The  contest  with 
the  mother  country  had  its  origin  in  her  attempts  to  de-  1760. 
prive  them,  by  means  of  unjust  laws,  of  the  fruits  of  their 
labor.  For  one  hundred  years  she  had  been  imposing 
restrictions  on  their  trade  and  domestic  manufactures. 
They  were  treated  as  dependants,  and  inferiors  who 
occupied  "  settlements  established  in  distant  parts  of  the 
world  for  the  benefit  of  trade."  They  could  purchase 
from  England  alone,  and  only  to  her  market  could  they 
send  their  products.  That  English  merchants  might 
grow  rich  at  their  expense,  the  products  of  Europe  and 
Asia  were  first  to  be  landed  in  England,  and  then  re- 
shipped  to  America  in  British  vessels.  The  only  trade 
not  thus  taxed,  was  that  of  negroes,  they  being  shipped 
directly  from  Africa — a  trade  against  which  all  the  colo- 
nies earnestly,  but  in  vain,  protested.  Even  the  trees 


• 


282 


CHAP. 
XXV. 


1760. 


A* 


1763. 


. 


*»  -  ijr 

HISTOEY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


in  the  forest  suitable  for  masts  were  claimed  by  the 
king,  and  marked  by  his  "  Surveyor-General  of  Woods." 
"  Kolling  mills,  forges,  or  tilt-hammers  for  making  iron," 
were  prohibited  as  "  nuisances."  The  House  of  Commons 
said  "  that  the  erection  of  manufactories  in  the  colonies 
tended  to  lessen  their  dependency  upon  Great  Britain  ;  " 
and  the  English  ship-carpenters  complained  "  that  their 
trade  was  hurt,  and  their  workmen  emigrated,  since  so 
many  vessels  were  built  in  New  England."  The  hatter, 
because  he  could  obtain  his  fur  from  the  Indians  without 
sending  to  England,  was  not  permitted  to  sell  hats  out  of 
his  own  colony.  No  manufacturer  was  permitted  to  have 
more  than  two  apprentices.  The  government  was  unwil- 
ling that  the  colonists  should  make  for  themselves  a  single 
article  which  the  English  could  supply. 

These  measures  aroused  a  spirit  of  opposition,  more 
especially  among  the  frugal  and  industrious  inhabitants 
of  New  England,  whose  manufactures,  fisheries,  and  trade 
were  almost  ruined.  There  the  people  mutually  agreed 
to  buy  of  British  manufacturers  only  what  was  absolutely 
necessary  ;  rather  than  pay  the  English  merchant  exorbi- 
tant prices,  they  would  deprive  themselves  of  every  luxury. 
Families  determined  to  make  their  own  linens  and  wool- 
lens, and  to  abstain  from  eating  mutton,  and  preserve  the 
sheep  to  furnish  wool.  It  became  fashionable,  as  well  as 
honorable,  to  wear  homespun.  Associations  were  formed 
to  promote  domestic  manufactures.  On  the  anniversary 
of  one  of  these,  more  than  three  hundred  young  women 
met  on  Boston  Common,  and  devoted  the  day  to  spinning 
flax.  The  graduating  class  of  Harvard  College,  not  to  be 
outdone  in  patriotism,  made  it  a  point  on  Commencement 
Day  to  be  clad  in  homespun.  Kestrictions  on  trade  did  not 
affect  the  interests  of  the  people  of  the  South  so  much, 
as  England  could  not  dispense  with  their  tobacco,  rice, 
and  indigo,  and  they  had  scarcely  any  manufactories. 

Before  the  close  of  the  French  war,  it  was  intimated 


* 


WRITS  OF   ASSISTANCE.  283 


that  England  intended  to  tax  the  colonies,  and  make 
them  bear  a  portion  of  the  burdens  brought  upon  herself 
by  the  mismanagement  of  her  officials.  Many  plans  were  1763. 
discussed  and  laid  aside.  Meantime  the  colonists  denied 
the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  them  without  granting 
them,  in  some  form,  representation  in  the  government  ; 
they  claimed  a  voice  in  the  disposal  of  their  money.  They 
looked  back  upon  their  history,  and  were  unable  to  dis- 
cover the  obligations  they  owed  the  king.  They  loved  to 
think  of  Old  England  as  the  "  home  "  of  their  fathers  ; 
they  rejoiced  in  her  glories  and  successes,  and  never 
dreamed  of  separating  from  her,  until  driven  to  that  re- 
solve by  oppression.  Yet  visions  of  greatness,  and  it  may 
be  of  independence,  were  floating  through  the  minds  of 
the  far-seeing.  John  Adams,  when  a  youth,  had  already 
written  :  "It  looks  likely  to  me,  for  if  we  can  remove  the 
turbulent  Gallicks,  our  people,  according  to  the  exactest 
computations,  will  in  another  century  become  more  nu- 
merous than  England  itself.  Should  this  be  the  case, 
since  we  have,  I  may  say,  all  the  naval  stores  of  the  nation 
in  our  hands,  it  will  be  easy  to  obtain  the  mastery  of  the 
seas  ;  and  then  the  united  force  of  all  Europe  will  not  be 
able  to  subdue  us."  l 

A  special  effort  was  now  made  to  enforce  the  naviga- 
tion laws,  and  to  prevent  the  colonists  from  trading  with 
other  nations.  This  policy  would  have  converted  the  en- 
tire people  into  a  nation  of  smugglers  and  law-breakers, 
but  for  the  strong  religious  influences  felt  throughout  the 
land.  j%  ' 

To  enforce  these  laws,  Parliament  gave  authority  for 
using  general  search  warrants,  or  "  Writs  of  Assistance." 
These  Writs  authorized  any  sheriff  or  officer  of  the 
customs  to  enter  a  store  or  private  dwelling,  and  search 
for  foreign  merchandise,  which  he  suspected  had  not  paid 

'Life  and  Writings,  vol.  i.  p.  23. 


£ 


284  HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


i 


duty.     The  quiet  of  the  domestic  fireside  was  no  longer 
_  1  to  be  held  sacred.     These  Writs,  first  used   in    Massa- 
1761.    chusetts,  caused  great  excitement  and  opposition.     Their 
legality  was  soon  brought  to  the  test  in  a  court  of  justice. 
On  this  occasion  the  eloquent  James  Otis  sounded  the 
note  of  alarm.     He  was  the  Advocate  for  the  Admiralty, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  argue  in  favor  of  the  Writs  ;  but  he 
resigned,  in  order  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  people.     The 
royalist  lawyer  contended  that  the  power  of  Parliament 
was  supreme,  and  that  good  subjects  ought  to  submit  to 
its  every  enactment.     In  reply,  Otis  exclaimed  :  "  To  my 
Feb.     dying  day,  I  will  oppose,  with  all  the  power  and  faculties 
God  has  given  me,  all  such  instruments  of  slavery,  on  the 
^^      one  hand,  and  villany  on  the  other."     His  stirring  elo- 
quence gave  an  impulse  to  public  opinion,  which  aroused 
opposition    to  other   acts  of    Parliament.      "  Then  and 
there,"  says  John  Adams,  "  was  the  first  opposition  to 
arbitrary  acts  of  Great  Britain.     Then  and  there  Ameri- 
can Independence  was  born."     The  writs  were  scarcely 
ever  enforced  after  this  trial. 

Of  the  leading  men  of  the  times,  none  had  greater  in- 
fluence than  Samuel  Adams  —  in  his  private  life,  the 
devout  Christian  ;  in  his  public  life,  the  incorruptible 
patriot.  In  him  the  spirit  of  the  old  Puritans  seemed  to 
linger  :  mild  in  manners,  living  from  choice  in  retire- 
ment, incapable  of  an  emotion  of  fear,  when  duty  called 
him  to  a  post  of  danger.  Learned  in  constitutional  law, 
he  never  went  beyond  its  limits.  Through  his  influence 
Boston  expressed  her  opinions,  saying,  "  We  claim  Brit- 
ish rights,  not  by  charter  only  —  we  are  born  to  them.  If 
we  are  taxed  without  our  consent,  our  property  is  taken 
without  our  consent,  and  then  we  are  no  more  freemen, 
but  slaves."  And  she  invited  all  the  colonies  to  join  in 
obtaining  redress.  The  same  note  of  alarm  was  sounded 
in  Virginia,  in  New  York,  in  Connecticut,  and  in  the 
Carolinas.  Thinking  minds  saw  in  the  future  the  coming 


' 


'~  -sj 


0 


' 


* 


* 


THE    KING'S   PREROGATIVE  -  PATRICK   HENRY.  285 

contest  ;  that  the  English  ministry  would  persist  in  their   CHAP. 
unjust  treatment,  until,  in  self-defence,  they  had  driven  _  _ 
the  whole  American  people  to  open  rebellion.     "They    1761. 
wish  to  make  us  dependent,  but  they  will  make  us  inde- 
pendent ;  these  oppressions  will  lead  us  to  unite  and  thus 
secure  our  liberty."     Thus  wrote  Kichard  Henry  Lee,  of 
Virginia.    "  Oh  !  poor  New  England,"  exclaimed  the  elo-   ' 
quent    George    Whitefield,  "there    is   a   deep-laid   plot 
against  your  liberties  ;  your  golden  days  are  ended." 

The  first  collision  in  Virginia  between  the  prerogative  1763. 
of  the  king  and  the  authority  of  the  legislature  occurred^ 
in  a  county  court.  Tobacco  was  the  legalized  currency 
of  the  colony.  Occasionally,  untoward  events,  such  as 
war,  or  failure  of  the  crop,  made  payments  in  tobacco  very 
burdensome.  The  legislature  passed  a  law,  authorizing 
debtors  to  pay  their  public  dues  in  money,  at  the  rate  of 
twopence  a  pound  for  the  tobacco  due.  The  clergymen 
of  the  established  church  refused  to  acquiesce  in  the  law  ; 
they  had  a  fixed  salary  of  a  certain  number  of  pounds  of 
tobacco  a  year.  At  their  instance,  Sherlock,  the  Bishop 
of  London,  used  his  influence  and  persuaded  the  king  to 
refuse  his  signature  to  this  law.  "  The  rights  of  the  cler- 
gy and  the  authority  of  the  king  must  stand  or  fall 
together/'  said  the  Bishop.  The  law  was  therefore  null 
and  void. 

To  test  it,  a  clergyman  named  Maury  brought  a  suit 
to  recover  damages,  or  the  difference  between  twopence 
per  pound  and  the  higher  price  for  which  tobacco  was 
selling.  It  became  the  cause  of  the  people  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  cause  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  king's  pre- 
rogative on  the  other.  The  people  engaged  a  young  man 
of  twenty-seven  to  plead  against  "  the  parsons." 

That  young  man  was  Patrick  Henry.  He  belonged 
not  to  the  aristocracy,  and  was  obscure  and  unknown. 
On  this  occasion,  that  rare  and  wonderful  gift  of  eloquence, 

which  has  made  us  so  familiar  with  his  name,  was  first  * 

m 


286  HISTOKY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

«  *     -  "$ 

displayed.     B-e  possessed  a  charm  of  voice  and  tone  that 
fascinated  his  hearers  ;  a  grasp  of  thought,  a  vividness  of 


1763.    conception,  and  withal  a  power  that  allured  into  sympathy 
with  his  own  sentiments  the  emotions  of  his  audience. 
For  this  he  was  indebted  to  nature,  not  to  education  ;  for, 
when  a  boy,  he  broke  away  from  the  restraints  of  school 
^.  and  the  drudgery  of  book-learning,  and  lounged  idly  by 

some  solitary  brookside  with  hook  and  line,  or  in  more 
active  moods  dashed  away  into  the  woods  to  enjoy  the  ex- 
citements of  the  chase.  He  learned  a  little  of  Latin,  of 
^Grreek  not  more  than  the  letters,  and  as  little  of  mathe- 
Wnatics.  At  eighteen  he  married,  engaged  in  trade,  and 
failed  ;  tried  farming  with  as  little  success  ;  then  read 
law  six  weeks,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Yet  the 
mind  of  this  young  man  had  not  been  idle  ;  he  lived  in  a 
world  of  deep  thought  ;  he  studied  men.  He  was  now  to 
appear  for  the  first  time  as  an  advocate. 

The  whole  colony  was  interested  in  the  trial,  and  the 
court-room  was  crowded  with  anxious  spectators.  Maury 
made  objections  to  the  jury;  he  thought  them  of  athe 
vulgar  herd,"  "  dissenters,"  and  "  New  Lights."  "  They  g 
are  honest  men,"  rejoined  Henry.  '  The  court  overruled 
the  insulting  objections,  and  the  jury  were  sworn. 

The  case  was  plainly  against  him,  but  Henry*con- 
tended  the  law  was  valid,  and  enacted  by  competent  au- 
thority ;  he  fell  back  upon  the  natural  right  of  Virginia  ^ 
to  mate  her  own  laws,  independently  of  the  king  and  par- 
liament. He  proved  the  justness  of  the  law  ;  he  sketched 
the  character  of  a  good  king,  as  the  father  of  his  people, 
but  whBJEwhen  he  annuls  good  laws  becomes  a  tyrant,  and 
forfeits  all  right  to  obedience.  At  this  doctrine,  so  new, 
so,  daring,  the  audience  seemed  to  stand  aghast.  "He 
has  spoken  treason,"  exclaimed  the  opposing  counsel.  A 
few  joined  in  the  cry  of  Treason  !  treason  !  Yet  the  jury 
brought  in  a  verdict  for  the  "  parsons  "  of  a  penny  dan> 
•  ages.  _ 

*»  '       *  J£  '&     ••*•    «"    T          ^|F  ' 

M  ^   ,  ^          •  i^ 


•*' 


THE    STAMP    ACT.  287 


Henry  denied  the  right  of  the  king  to  aid  in  making 
laws  for  the  colonies.  His  argument  applied  not  only  to  _  '_ 
Virginia,  lout  to  the  continent.  The  sentiment  spread  1763. 
from  colony  to  colony. 

Parliament  assumed  the  right  to  tax  the  Americans, 
and  paid  no  attention  to  their  protests,  but  characterized 
them  as  "  absurd,"  "  insolent/'  "  mad."  WheJthey  ex- 
postulated with  Grenville,  the  Prime  Minister,  he  warned 
them  that  in  a  contest  with  England  they  would  gain 
nothing.  The  taxes  must  be  levied  at  all  events  ;  and 
he  graciously  asked  if  there  was  any  form  in  which 
would  rather  pay  them  than  by  means  of  the  threaten 
stamps.  These  were  to  be  affixed  to  all  documents  used 
in  trade,  and  for  them  a  certain  impost  duty  was  charged. 
Only  the  English  merchants  whose  interests  were  involved 
in  the  American  trade,  appear  to  have  sympathized  with 
the  colonists.  Franklin,  who  was  then  in  London  as  agent 
for  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  wrote  home  :  "  Every 
man  in  England  regards  himself  as  a  piece  of  a  sovereign 
over  America,  seems  to  jostle  himself  into  the  throne 
with  the  king,  and  talks  of  our  subjects  in  the  colonies." 
The  Stamp  Act  did  not  pass  without  a  struggle.  Dur- 
ing these  discussions,  Colonel  Barre,  who,  in  the  war 
against  the  French,  was  the  friend  and  companion 
Wolfe,  charged  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons 
with  being  ignorant  of  the  true  state  of  the  colonies. 
When  Charles  Townshend,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, asked  the  question,  "  Will  our  American  chil- 
dren, planted  by  our  care,  nourished  by  our  indulgence, 
and  protected  by  our  arms,  grudge  to  contribute  their  mite 
to  relieve  us  from  our  burdens  ?  "  Barre  indignantly  re- 
ied  :.  "  They  planted  by  your  care  !  No,  your  oppres- 
ons  planted  them  in  America.  They  fled  from  your 
tyranny  to  an  uncultivated,  inhospitable  country  ;  where 
they  exposed  themselves  to  almost  every  hardship,  and  to 
the  cruelties  of  the  savage  foe.  They  nourished  by  your 


'•«F-  •*  , 

288  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


indulgence  !     They  grew  by  your  neglect  ;  your  care  for 
them  was  to  send  persons  to  rule  them  ;  deputies  of  dep- 


ill  A 


1765.  uties,  to  some  members  of  this  house,  sent  to  spy  out  their 
liberties,  to  misrepresent  their  actions,  and  to  prey  upon 
them  ;  men  who  have  caused  the  blood  of  those  sons  of 
liberty  to  recoil  within  them.  They  protected  by  your 
arms  !  They  have  nobly  taken  up  arms  in  your  defence. 
Amidst  their  constant  and  laborious  industry  they  have 
defended  a  country  whose  frontiers  were  drenched  in  blood, 
while  its  interior  settlements  yielded  all  their  little  savings 
your  emoluments.  I  speak  the  genuine  sentiments  of 
my  heart.  They  are  a  people  as  truly  loyal  as  any  sub- 
jects of  the  king  ;  they  are  jealous  of  their  liberties,  and 
will  vindicate  them,  if  ever  they  should  be  violated." 

But  very  few  of  the  members  of  the  house  were  thus 
liberal  in  their  sentiments.  The  great  majority  looked 
upon  the  colonies  as  subservient  to  the  rule  of  the  mother 
country.  It  was  the  express  intention  of  the  ministry 
"  to  be  very  tender  in  taxing  them,  beginning  with  small 
duties  and  taxes,"  and  advancing  as  they  found  them 
willing  to  bear  it. 

The  House  of  Commons,  on  March  22d,  passed  the 
Stamp  Act  by  a  majority  of  nine  to  one  ;  ten  days  after- 
ward it  passed  the  House  of  Lords  almost  unanimously. 
The  king  was  ill  ;  mystery  whispered  of  some  unusual 
disease.  When  George  III.  signed  the  Stamp  Act,  he 
was  not  a  responsible  being  —  he  was  insane. 

This  act  declared  that  every  written  agreement  be- 
tween persons  in  trade/  to  be  valid,  must  have  affixed  to 
it  one  of  these  stamps.  Their  price  was  in  proportion  to 
the  importance  of  the  writing  ;  the  lowest  a  shilling,  and 
thence  increasing  indefinitely.  Truly  this  "  was  to  take 
money  without  an  equivalent."  All  business  must  be 
thus  taxed,  or  suspended. 

In  order  to  enforce  this  act,  Parliament,  two  months 
afterward,  authorized  the  ministry  to  send  as  many  troops 


m  • _  _ 


RESOLUTIONS   OF    THE   VIRGINIA   ASSEMBLY.  289 

as  they  saw  proper  to  America.  For  these  soldiers  the 
colonies  were  required  to  find  "  quarters,  fuel/  cider  or 
rum,  candles,  and  other  necessaries."  1T65. 

The  news  of  the  passage  of  these  arbitrary  laws  threw 
the  people  into  a  ferment.  They  became  acquainted  with 
each  other's  views  ;  the  subject  was  discussed  in  the  news- 
papers, was  noticed  in  the  pulpits,  and  became  the  en- 
grossing topic  of  conversation  in  social  intercourse.  In 
the  Virginia  Assembly,  Patrick  Henry  introduced  resolu- 
tions declaring  that  the  people  of  Yirginia  were  only  bound 
to  pay  taxes  imposed  by  their  own  Legislature,  and  any  ^ 
person  who  maintained  the  contrary  should  be  deemed  an 
enemy  of  the  colony.  An  exciting  debate  followed,  in 
which  the  wonderful  power  of  Henry  in  describing  the 
tyranny  of  the  British  government  swayed  the  majority 
of  the  members.  In  the  midst  of  one  of  his  bursts  of 
eloquence  he  exclaimed  :  "  Caesar  had  his  Brutus,  Charles 
I.  his  Cromwell,  and  George  III." — "Treason!  trea-  May. 
son  ! "  shouted  the  Speaker,  and  a  few  others  joined  him 
in  the  cry.  Heory  fixed  his  eye  upon  the  Speaker,  and 
in  the  tone  and  emphasis  peculiar  to  himself,  continued, 
"  may  profit  by  their  example.  If  that  be  treason,  make 
the  most  of  it."  The  resolutions  passed,  but  the  next 
morning,  in  Henry's  absence,  the  timid  in  the  Assembly 
rescinded  the  last,  and  modified  the  others.  The  governor 
immediately  dissolved  the  house  for  this  free  expression  of 
opinion.  Meantime,  a  manuscript  copy  of  the  resolutions 
was  on  its  way  to  Philadelphia,  where  they  were  speedily 
printed  and  sent  throughout  the  country.  They  raised 
the  drooping  spirits  of  the  people,  who  determined  to  neu- 
tralize the  law — they  would  never  use  the  stamps. 

The  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  resolved  that  the 
courts  should  conduct  their  business  without  their  use. 
C  olden,  the  royalist  governor  of  New  York,  thought 
"  that  the  presence  of  a  battalion  would  prevent  mis- 
chief ;"  but  the  council  suggested,  "it  would  be  more 


19 


4fe  it   * 

*  *       w      0  • 


, 

V        -^VV-::-  T- 

,      ••• 
••*  •  * 

290  HISTOKT   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


safe  for  the  government  to  show  a  confidence  in  the  peo- 
-  .  pie."     "  'I  will  cram  the  stamps  down  their  throats  with 
1765.    my  sword,"  said  an  officer.      The  churchmen  preached 
ohedience  to  the  king  —  the  "  Lord's  anointed."     William 
Livingston  answered,  "  The  people  are  the  *  Lord's  anoint- 
ed/ though  named  '  mob  and  rabble  '  —  the  people  are  the 
darling  of  Providence." 

&  Colonel  Barre,  in  his  famous  speech,  characterized 
those  in  America  who  opposed  British  oppression,  as 
"  Sons  of  Liberty."  He  read  them  rightly  ;  Sons  of  Lib- 
^  erty  they  were,  and  destined  to  be  free  ;  they  felt  it  ;  they 
adopted  the  name,  it  became  the  Cratch  word  under  which 
they  rallied.  Associations  called^by  this  name  sprang  up 
as  if  by  magic,  and  in  a  few  weeks  spread  from  Massachu- 
setts to  Maryland.  They  wou1«d|neither  use  stamps  nor 
permit  the  distributers  to  remain  in  office. 


One  morning  the  faaSfftS  Liberty  Tree  in  Boston  was 
found  decorated  with  the^figies  of  some  of  the  friends  of 
the  English  rmiwsJ^pl^Pfte  mob  compelled  Oliver,  the 
secretary  of  the  colony,  who  hachfoeen  appointed  stamp 
distributer,  to  resign,  and  promisiMiat  he  would  not  aid 

Aug.  in  their  distribution.  They  also  attacked  the  houses  of 
some  of  the  other  officials.  The  patrwjts  protested  against 
these  lawless  proceedings.  Five  j^idred  Connecticut 
farmers  came  into  Wethersfield^aftlf  compelled  Jared 
Ingersol,  the  stamp  officer  for  thai^yolony,  to  resign,  and 
then  take  off  his  hat  and  give  three  capers  for  "  Liberty, 
Property,  and  no  stamps."  Such  was  Jjjifc  feeling,  .  and 

^T°v-  such  the  result,  that  when  the  day  came,  on  which  the 
law  was  to  go  into  effect,  not  one  stamp  officer  could  be 
found  —  all  had  resigned. 

June.  The  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  issued  a  circular 
in  June,  inviting  all  the  colonies  to  send  delegates  to  a 
convention  or  Congress,  to  be  held  at  New  York,  on  the 
first  Tuesday  of  the  following  October.  Accordingly,  on 


THE   CONGRESS   IN   SESSION.  291 

4 

the  day  named  delegates  from  nine  of  the  colonies  met  at  CHAP. 
the  place  appointed.  '_ 

The  idea  of  a  union  of  the  colonies  dates  as  far  back  1765. 
as  the  days  of  William  Penn,  who  was  the  first  to  suggest 
it ;  Jmt  now  the  question  was  discussed  by  the  various 
committees  of  correspondence.  At  a  convention  which 
met  at  Albany  eleven  years  before  this,  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin had  proposed  a  plan  of  union.  This  was  adopted  and 
laid  before  the  Assemblies  of  the  colonies,  and  the  Board 
of  Trade,  for  ratification.  It  met  with  a  singular  fate. 
The  Assemblies  rejected  it,  because  it  was  too  aristocratic,  -, 
and  the  Board  of  Trade  because  it  was  too  democratic. 

The  Congress  met  and  spent  three  weeks  in  delibera-  Ot.,. 
tion.  They  drew  up  a  Declaration  of  Eights,  a  Memorial 
to  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  a  Petition  to  the  king. 
They  claimed  the  right  of  being  taxed  only  by  their  own 
representatives,  premising,  that  because  of  the  distance, 
and  for  other  reasons,  they  could  not  be  represented  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  but  in  their  own  Assemblies.  These 
documents  were  signed  by  nearly  all  the  delegates,  and 
transmitted  to  England.  The  colonial  Assemblies,  at 
their  earliest  days  of  meeting,  gave  to  these  proceedings 
of  the  Congress  their  cordial  approval.  Thus  the  Union 
was  consummated,  by  which  the  colonies  "  became  as  a 
bundle  of  sticks  which  could  neither  be  bent  nor  broken." 
While  the  Congress  was  in  session,  a  ship  with  stamps  on 
board  made  its  appearance  in  the  bay.  Placards  were 
posted  throughout  the  city,  threatening  those  who  should 
attempt  to  use  them.  "  I  am  resolved  to  have  the  stamps 
distributed,"  said  Colden,  the  governor.  "Let  us  see 
who  will  dare  to  put  the  act  into  execution,"  said  the 
Sons  of  Liberty. 

On  the  last  day  of  October  all  the  royal  governors, 
except  the  governor  of  Khode  Island,  took  the  oath  to 
carry  into  execution  the  Stamp  Act.  On  the  next  day  the 
law  was  to  go  into  effect.  But  not  a  stamp  was  to  be 


292  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP.   seen  ;  instead,  in  every  colony  the  bells  were  tolled,  and 

L  the  flags  lowered  to  half-mast — indications  that  the  pas- 

1V65.  sage  of  this  act  was  regarded  as  "  the  funeral  of  liberty." 
The  merchants  of  New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadel- 
phia, agreed  to  send  no  orders  to  England  for  merchan- 
dise, to  countermand  those  already  sent,  and  to  receive  no 
goods  on  commission  till  the  act  was  repealed.  They  were 
sustained  by  the  people,  who  pledged  themselves  not  to  use 
the  products  of  English  manufacturers,  but  to  encourage 
their  own.  Circulars  were  sent  throughout  the  land  in- 
viting to  harmonious  action  ;  these  were  responded  to 
with  a  hearty  good-will.  Luxuries  were  dispensed  with, 
and  homespun  was  more  honorable  than  ever. 

The  infatuated  ministry,  in  view  of  this  opposition, 
resolved  to  modify,  not  to  repeal  the  law.  It  would  de- 
tract from  their  dignity,  to  comply  with  the  request  of  the 
colonists.  "  Sooner,"  said  one  of  them,  "  than  make  our 
colonies  our  allies,  I  would,  wish  to  see  them  returned  to 
their  primitive  deserts." 

1766.  Infirm  health  had  compelled  Pitt  to  retire  from  active 
life.  "  My  resolution  is  taken,"  said  he,  "  and  if  I  can 
crawl  or  be  carried  to  London,  I  will  deliver  my  mind  and 
heart  upon  the  state  of  America."  When  accused  by 
Grenville  of  exciting  sedition,  "  Sir,"  said  he  in  ^reply, 
"  I  have  been  charged  with  giving  birth  to  sedition  in 
America.  Sorry  I  am  to  have  the  liberty  of  speech  in 
this  house  imputed  as  a  crime.  But  the  imputation  will 
not  deter  me  ;  it  is  a  liberty  I  mean  to  exercise.  The 
gentleman  tells  us  that  America  is  obstinate  ;  that  Amer- 
ica is  almost  in  rebellion.  I  rejoice  that  America  has  re- 
sisted." The  sentiment  startled  the  house  ;  he  continued  : 
"  If  they  had  submitted,  they  would  have  voluntarily  be- 
come slaves.  They  have  been  driven  to  madness  by  injus- 
tice. My  opinion  is,  that  the  Stamp  Act  should  be  repealed, 
absolutely,  totally,  immediately."  The  celebrated  Edmund 


THE    STAMP    ACT    BEPEALED — REJOICINGS.  293 

Burke,  then  a  young  man  rising  into  notice,  advocated  the  CHAP. 
repeal  with  great  eloquence.  '__ 

The  House  of  Commons  wished  to  inquire  still  further  1766. 
of  the  temper  of  the  Americans  before  taking  the  vote. 
They  accordingly  called  witnesses  to  their  bar,  among 
whom  was  Benjamin  Franklin.  His  knowledge  was  the 
most  perfect,  and  his  testimony  had  the  greatest  effect 
upon  their  minds.  He  said  the  colonists  could  not  pay 
for  the  stamps  for  want  of  gold  and  silver  ;  that  they  had 
borne  more  than  their  share  of  expense  in  the  last  war,  and 
that  they  were  laboring  under  debts  contracted  by  it ; 
that  they  would  soon  supply  themselves  with  domestic 
manufactures  ;  that  they  had  been  well  disposed  toward 
the  mother  country,  but  recent  laws  were  lessening  their 
affection,  and  soon  all  commerce  would  be  broken  up,  un- 
less those  laws  were  repealed  ;  and  finally,  that  they  never 
would  submit  to  taxes  imposed  by  those  who  had  no  au- 
thority. The  vote  was  taken,  and  the  Stamp  Act  was  Mar. 
repealed  ;  not  because  it  was  unjust,  but  because  it  could 
not  be  enforced.  The  people  of  the  English  commercial 
cities  manifested  their  joy  ;  bonfires  were  lighted,  the  ships 
displayed  their  gayest  colors,  and  the  city  of  London  itself 
was  illuminated.  Expresses  were  sent  to  the  seaports, 
that  the  news  might  reach  America  as  soon  as  possible. 

The  rejoicings  in  the  colonies  were  equally  as  great. 
In  Boston,  the  bell  nearest  to  the  Liberty  Tree  was  the 
first  to  ring  ;  soon  gay  flags  and  banners  were  flying  from 
the  shipping,  from  private  dwellings,  and  from  the  steeples 
of  the  meeting-houses.  Amidst  the  joy,  the  unfortunate 
were  not  forgotten,  and  those  immured  in  the  debtor's 
prison,  were  released  by  the  contributions  of  their  friends. 
The  ministers,  from  their  pulpits,  offered  thanksgiving  in 
the  name  of  the  whole  people,  and  the  associations  against 
importing  merchandise  from  England  were  dissolved. 
New  York,  Virginia,  and  Maryland,  each  voted  a  statue 
to  Pitt,  who  became  more  than  ever  a  popular  idol. 


294  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


f  these  troubles  the  cause  of  education 
and  religion  was  not  forgotten.     The  Kev.  Eleazar  Whee- 

1766.  lock  established  at  Lebanon,  in  Connecticut,  a  school  to 
educate  Indian  boys,  and  train  them  as  teachers  for  their 
own  race.  Success  attended  the  effort.  A  grant  of  forty- 
four  thousand  acres  of  land  induced  him  to  remove  the 
school  to  Hanover,  New  Hampshire.  Under  the  name  of 
Dartmouth,  a  charter  as  a  college  was  granted  it,  by 

1769  Wentworth,  the  governor.  The  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  a 
Methodist,  a  friend  of  John  Wesley,  aided  it,  was  one  of 
its  trustees,  and  took  charge  of  the  funds  contributed  for 
it  in  England  —  hence  the  name. 

The  establishment  of  this  institution  was  one  of  the 
effects  of  the  Great  Kevival.  In  the  midst  of  the  native 
forest  of  pines  the  work  was  commenced.  The  principal 
and  his  students  dwelt  in  log-cabins,  built  by  their  own 
hands. 


*  * 


GHAPTEK    XXVI. 

CAUSES  WHICH  LED  TO  THE  REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

The  English  Ministry  determine  to  obtain  a  Revenue. — Massachusetts  invites 
to  harmonious  Action. — The  Romney  and  the  Sloop  Liberty. — A  Brit- 
ish Regiment  at  Boston. — Collision  with  the  Citizens. — Articles  of  Asso- 
ciation proposed  by  Washington. — The  Tax  upon  Tea. — Whigs  and 
Tories. — The  Gaspe  captured. — The  King's  Maxim. — The  Resolutions 
not  to  receive  the  Tea. — Tea  thrown  into  Boston  Harbor. — Its  Recep- 
tion at  other  Places. — More  oppressive  Laws  passed  by  Parliament. — 
Aid  sent  to  Boston. — Gage's  Difficulties. — Alexander  Hamilton. — The 
Old  Continental  Congress. — The  Organization ;  the  first  Prayer. — The 
"Declaration  of  Rights." — The  "American  Association." — The  Papers 
issued  by  the  Congress. — The  Views  of  Pitt  in  relation  to  them. 

LORD  GRENVILLE,  the  head  of  the  ministry,  was  dismissed,    ^xvi 

and  the  Marquis  of  Kockingham  took  his  place.     This  

ministry  soon  gave  way,  and  another  was  appointed  by    1766. 
the  king,  at  the  head  of  which  was  placed  Pitt,  who,  in 
the  mean  time,  had  been  created  Earl  of  Chatham. 

The  following  year,  during  Pitt's  absence,  Charles 
Townshend,  his  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  announced 
that  he  intended,  at  all  risks,  to  derive  a  revenue  from  J^ 
America,  by  imposing  a  duty  upon  certain  articles,  which 
the  colonists  received  from  abroad,  such  as  wine,  oil, 
paints,  glass,  paper,  and  lead  colors,  and  especially  upon 
tea,  as  they  obtained  it  cheaper  from  Dutch  smugglers 
than  the  English  themselves.  It  was  suggested  to  him 
to  withdraw  the  army,  and  there  would  be  no  need  of  a 


- 


296  HISTOEY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.  tax.  "  I  will  hear  nothing  on  the  subject,"  said  he  ;  "  it 
XXVL  is  absolutely  necessary  to  keep  an  army  there." 
!767s  The  colonists  were  startled  by  this  news.  They  now 
remembered  the  fatal  reservation  in  the  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act,  that  Parliament  had  the  absolute  right  to  tax 
them.  "  We  will  form  a  universal  combination  to  eat 
nothing,  to  drink  nothing,  and  wear  nothing,  imported 
from  England,"  passed  as  a  watchword  from  one  colony 
to  another,  and  very  soon  the  non-importation  associations 
were  again  in  vigor.  "  Courage,  Americans  ;  liberty,  relig- 
ion, and  science  aye  on  the  wing  to  these  shores.  The 
finger  of  God  points  out  a  mighty  empire  to  your  sons," 
said  one  of  the  lawyers  of  New  York.  "  Send  over  an 
army  and  fleet,  and  reduce  the  dogs  to  reason,"  wrote  one 
of  the  royal  governors  to  the  ministry. 

Suddenly  the  Komney,  a  man-of-war,  appeared  in  the 
harbor  of  Boston.  The  question  soon  arose,  Why  -is  a 
vessel  of  war  sent  to  our  harbor  ?  The  people  had  resisted 
no  law  ;  they  had  only  respectfully  petitioned  for  redress, 
and  resolved  to  dispense  with  the  use  of  British  goods. 
Since  the  arrival  of  the  Komney,  the  haughty  manner  of 
the  Commissioners  of  Customs  toward  the  people  had  be- 
come intolerable.  The  Komney  frequently  impressed  the 
New  England  seamen  as  they  came  into  the  harbor.  One 
man  thus  impressed  was  forcibly  rescued  by  his  compan- 
ions. These  and  similar  outrages  excited  the  bitterest 
animosity  between  the  royal  officials  and  the  people. 

The  Massachusetts  Assembly  issued  a  circular  to  the 

other  Colonial  Assemblies,  inviting  to  harmonious  action 

in  obtaining  redress.     A  few  months  afterward  the  minis- 

1768.    try  sent  peremptory  orders  to  the  Assembly  to  rescind 

June,    their  circular.     Through  the  influence  of  Otis  and  Samuel 

Adams,  the  Assembly  refused  to  comply  with  the  arbitrary 

demand,  but  instead  intimated  that  Parliament  ought  to 

repeal  their  offensive  laws.     Meantime  the  other  Colonial 

Assemblies  received  the  circular  favorably,  and  also  en- 


"SM 


tt.T".  ID-Applet; 


• 


* 


A    BRITISH    REGIMEHT    STATIONED   IN   BOSTON.  297 


couraged  Massachusetts  in  her  resistance  to  tyranny  and 
injustice. 

At  this  crisis,  under  the  pretence  that  she  had  made  1768. 
a  false  entry,  the  sloop  Liberty,  belonging  to  John  Han- 
cock, one  of  the  prominent  leaders,  was  seized,  and  towed 
under  the  guns  of  the  Eomney.  She  was  laden  with  Ma- 
deira wine,  on  which  duties  were  demanded.  The  news 
soon  spread,  and  a  crowd  collected,  the  more  violent  of 
whom  attacked  the  houses  of  the  Commissioners  of  Cus- 
toms, who  were  forced  to  fly  for  safety  to  Castle  William 
in  the  harbor.  Of  these  outbreaks  of  a  few  ignorant  per- 
sons, the  most  exaggerated  accounts  were  sent  to  Eng- 
land, and  there  it  was  resolved  to  send  more  soldiers,  and 
^make  Massachusetts  submit  as  a  conquered  country.  Ven- 
geance was  to  be  especially  taken  on  "  the  insolent  town 
of  Boston/'  As  the  Parliament  had  determined  to  send 
troops  to  the  colonies,  Bernard,  the  governor,  requested 
Colonel  Gage  to  bring  a  regiment  from  Halifax  to  Boston. 
On  a  quiet  Sabbath,  these  troops  were  landed  under  the 
cover  of  the  guns  of  their  vessels,  their  colors  flying., 
drums  beating,  and  bayonets  fixed,  as  if  they  had  taken 
possession  of  an  enemy's  town.  Neither  the  leaders  of 
the  people,  nor  the  people  themselves,  were  intimidated 
by  this  military  demonstration.  According  to  law,  troops 
could  be  lodged  in  Boston,  only  when  the  barracks  at  the 
forts  in  the  harbor  were  full.  The  Assembly  refused  the 
soldiers  quarters^  and  the  food  and  other  necessaries  which 
had  been  demanded.  The  royalists  gravely  thought  the 
Bostonians  "  had  come  within  a  hair's-breadth  of  commit- 
ting treason."  Gage  wrote,  "  It  is  of  no  use  to  argue  in 
this  country,  where  every  man  studies  law."  He  would 
enforce  obedience  without  delay. 

Boston  was  held  as  a  conquered  town  ;  sentinels  were 
pla,ced  at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  and  citizens,  when 
passing  to  their  ordinary  business,  were  challenged  ;  even 
the  sacred  hours  of  the  Sabbath  were  not  free  from^he 


- 

% 

HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


298 


CHAP,  din  of  drums.  A  .collision  finally  took  place,  between  a 
citizen  and  a  soldier.  This  led  to  an  affray  between  the 
soldiers  and  some  rope-makers.  A  few  evenings  afterward 
a  sentinel  was  assaulted  ;  soldiers  were  sent  to  his  aid, 
and  they  were  stoned  by  the  mob.  At  length  a  soldier 
fired  upon  their  assailants  ;  immediately  six  of  his  com-* 
panions  fired  also.  Three  persons  were  killed  and  five 
wounded.  The  town  was  thrown  into  a  state  of  great  ex- 
citement ;  in  an  hour's  time  the  alarm  bells  had  brought 
thousands  into  the  streets.  The  multitude  was  pacified, 
only  for  the  time,  by  the  assurance  of  Hutchinson,  who 
was  now  governor,  that  in  the  morning  justice  should  be 
done.  The  next  morning  the  people  demanded  that  the 
troops  should  be  removed  from  the  town  to  Castle  Wil- 
liam ;  and  that  Captain  Preston,  who,  it  was  said,  had 
commanded  his  soldiers  to  fire,  should  be  tried  for  murder. 
Both  these  requisitions  were  complied  with.  Captain 
Preston  and  six  of  his  men1  were  arraigned  for  trial.  John 
Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy,  both  popular  leaders,  volun- 
teered to  defend  them.  They  were  acquitted  by  the  jury 
of  murder,  but  two  of  the  soldiers  were  found  guilty  of 
manslaughter. 

The  result  of  this  trial  had  a  good  effect  in  England. 
Contrary  to  the  slanders  of  their  enemies,  it  showed  that 
the  Bostonians,  in  the  midst  of  popular  excitement,  were 
actuated  by  principles  of  justice.  Those  citizens  who  had 
been  thus  killed  were  regarded  in  the  colonies  as  martyrs 
of  liberty. 

The  Virginia  Assembly  passed  resolutions  as  "bad  as 

those  of  Massachusetts."     The  next  day,  the  governor, 

Lord  Boutetourte,  dissolved  the  house  for  passing  "  the 

1769     abominable  resolves."     The  members  immediately  held  a 

May.    meeting,  at  which  Washington  presented  the  resolutions, 

drawn  up  by  himself  and  his  friend  George  Mason.    They 

were  a  draft  of  articles  of  association,  not  to  import  from 

Great  Britain  merchandise  that  was  taxed.     "  Such  was 


j 

99 


THE   KING   INSISTS   ON   TAXING   TEA.     f 

their  zeal  against  the  slave-trade,  they  made  a  special 
covenant  with  one  another  not  to  import  any  slaves,  nor 
purchase  any  imported."  To  these  resolutions  were  signed  1769. 
the  names  of  Patrick  Henry^Washington,  Jefferson,  Kich- 
ard  Henry  Lee,  and,  indeed,  of  all  the  members  of  the 
'Assembly.  Then  they  were  sent  throughout  the  colony 
for  the  signature  of  every  man  in  it. 

The  non-importation  associations  produced  their  effect, 
and  Lord  North,  who  was  now  prime  minister,  proposed 
to  remove  all  the  duties  except  that  on  tea.  That  was 
retained  at  the  express  command  of  the  king,  whose  maxim 
was,  "  that  there  should  be  always  one  tax,  at  least,  to 
keep  up  the  right  of  taxing/'  This  removed  part  of  the 
difficulty,  for  which  the  colonists  were  thankful ;  but  they 
were  still  united  in  their  determination  not  to  import  tea. 
For  these  concessions  they  were  indebted  to  the  clamors 
of  those  English  merchants  whose  trade  had  been  injured. 
For  a  year  there  was  an  apparent  lull  in  the  storm  of 
popular  feeling. 

Governor  Hutchinson  issued  a  proclamation  for  a  day 
of  thanksgiving  ;  this  he  required  the  ministers  to  read 
from  their  pulpits  on  the  following  Sabbath.  He  thought 
to  entrap  them,  by  inserting  a  clause  acknowledging  grat- 
itude, "  that  civil  and  religious  liberty  were  continued," 
and  "  trade  encouraged."  But  he  sadly  mistook  the  men. 
The  ministers,  with  the  exception  of  one,  whose  church 
the  governor  himself  attended,  refused  to  read  the  proc- 
lamation, but,  on  the  contrary,  agreed  to  "  implore  of  Al- 
mighty God  the  restoration  of  lost  liberties." 

The  contest  had  continued  so  long  that  party  lines 
began  to  be  drawn.  Those  who  favored  the  demands  of 
the  people,  were  called  Whigs  ;  those  who  sympathized 
with  the  government,  were  called  Tories.  These  terms 
had  been  long  in  use  in  England,  the  former  to  designate 
the  opposers  of  royalty  ;  the  latter  its  supporters. 

Scarcely  a  colony  was  exempt  from  outrages  commit- 


300  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 

ted  by  those  representing  the  royal  authority.     In  New 
York  the  people,  on  what  is  now  the  Park,  then  known  as 

1T70.  the  Fields,  erected  a  liberty-pole.  They  were  accustomed 
to  assemble  there  and  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  colony. 
On  a  certain  night,  a  party  of  the  soldiers  stationed  in 
the  fort  cut  down  the  pole.  The  people  retaliated,  and* 
frequent  quarrels  and  collisions  occurred.  Though  these 
disturbances  were  not  so  violent  as  those  in  Massachusetts, 
they  had  the  effect  of  exciting  in  the  people  intense  hatred 
of  the  soldiers,  as  the  tools  of  tyranny. 

An  armed  vessel,  the  Gaspe,  engaged  in  the  revenue 
service,  took  her  position  in  Narraganset  Bay,  and  in  an 
insulting  and  arbitrary  manner  enforced  the  customs. 
Sometimes  she  wantonly  compelled  the  passing  vessels 
and  market  boats  to  lower  their  colors  as  a  token  of  re- 
spect ;  sometimes  landed  companies  on  the  neighboring 
islands,  and  carried  off  hogs  and  sheep,  and  other  provi- 
sions. The  lieutenant  in  command  was  appealed  to  for  his 
authority  in  thus  acting.  He  referred  the  committee  to 
the  admiral,  stationed  at  Boston.  The  admiral  haughtily 
answered  :  "  The  lieutenant  is  fulfilling  his  duty  ;  if  any 
persons  rescue  a  vessel  from  him,  I  will  hang  them  as 
pirates."  The  bold  sailors  and  citizens  matured  their 

1TV2.  plans  and  executed  them.  The  Providence  packet,  of  a 
light  draught  and  a  fast  sailer,  was  passing  up  the  bay. 
The  Gaspe  tiailed.  The  packet  paid  no  attention,  but 
passed  on.  Immediately  the  Gaspe  gave  chase.  The 
packet  designedly  ran  into  shoal  water  near  the  shore  ; 
the  Gaspe  followed,  and  was  soon  aground, — the  tide  go- 
ing out,  left  her  fast.  The  following  night  a  company  of 
men  went  down  in  boats,  boarded  her,  made  prisoners  of 
the  crew,  and  burned  the  vessel.  A  large  reward  was 
offered  for  the  perpetrators  of  this  bold  act ;  though  well 
known,  not  one  was  betrayed. 

The  warehouses  of  the  East  India  Company  were  filled 
with  the  "  pernicious  weed,"  and  the  company  proposed 


A   TAX   IMPOSED   ON   TEA.  301 

to  pay  all  its  duties  in  England,  and  then  export  it  at 
their  own  risk.  This  would  remove  the  difficulty,  as  there 
would  then  be  no  collections  of  the  duty  in  American  1772. 
ports.  But  the  king  was  unwilling  to  sacrifice  his  maxim, 
and  Lord  North  seems  to  have  been  incapable  of  compre- 
hending, that  the  Americans  refused  to  pay  the  duty  on 
tea,  not  because  it  was  great  or  small,  but  because  they 
looked  upon  a  tax  thus  imposed  as  unjust.  He  therefore 
virtually  proposed  to  the  company  to  pay  three-fourths  of 
the  duty  in  England  ;  to  save  the  king's  maxim,  the  gov- 
ernment would  collect  the  other  fourth,  or  three  pence  on 
a  pound,  in  America.  It  was  suggested  to  North,  that 
the  Americans  would  not  purchase  the  tea  on  those  con- 
ditions. He  replied :  "  It  is  to  no  purpose  the  making 
objections,  for  the  king  will  have  it  so.  The  king  means 
to  try  the  question  with  the  Americans." 

Meantime  public  opinion  in  the  colonies  was  becoming 
more  and  more  enlightened,  and  more  and  more  decided. 
"  We  must  have  a  convention  of  all  the  colonies,"  said 
Samuel  Adams.  And  he  sent  forth  circulars  inviting 
them  to  assert  their  rights,  when  there  was  a  prospect  of 
success.  He  saw  clearly  that  the  king  and  Parliament 
were  resolved  to  see  whether  the  Americans  would  or 
would  not  acknowledge  their  supremacy. 

When  the  conditions  became  known  on  which  tea  was 
to  be  imported,  the  people  took  measures  to  prevent  its 
being  either  landed  or  sold.  In  Philadelphia  they  held  a 
meeting,  and  requested  those  to  whom  the  tea  was  con- 
signed "to  resign  their  appointments."  They  also  de- 
nounced "  as  an  enemy  to  his  country,"  "  whosoever  shall 
aid  or  abet  in  unloading,  receiving,  or  vending  the  tea." 
Similar  meetings  were  held  in  Charleston  and  New  York, 
and  similar  resolutions  were  passed. 

A  ship,  making  a  quick  passage,  arrived  at  Boston, 
with  intelligence  that  several  vessels  laden  with  tea  had 

sailed.     Five  thousand  men  immediately  assembled  to  de- 

' 


302  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

XXYJ-   liberate  on   the  course  to   be    pursued.      On  motion  of 

.  Samuel  Adams,  they  unanimously  resolved  to  send  the 

1TT3.  tea  back.  "  The  only  way  to  get  rid  of  it,"  shouted 
3 '  some  one  in  the  crowd,  "  is  to  throw  it  overboard."  Those 
to  whom  the  tea  had  been  consigned  were  invited  to  meet 
at  Liberty  Tree,  and  resign  their  appointments.  Two  of 
the  consignees  were  sons  of  Governor  Hutchinson,  who,  at 
that  time,  was  peculiarly  odious  on  account  of  his  double- 
dealing.  This  had  been  brought  to  light  by  a  number  of 
his  letters  to  persons  in  England.  These  letters  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  Franklin,  who  sent  them  to 
the  Speaker  of  the  Massachusetts  Assembly.  They  dis- 
closed the  fact,  that  nearly  all  the  harsh  measures  directed 
against  the  colony,  had  been  suggested  by  Hutchinson. 

According  to  law,  a  ship  must  unload  within  twenty 
days,  or  be  seized  for  non-payment  of  duties. 

Presently  a  ship  laden  with  tea  came  into  the  harbor. 
By  order  of  the  committee,  it  was  moored  at  a  certain 
wharf,  and  a  company  of  twenty-five  men  volunteered  to 
guard  it.  The  owner  promised  to  take  the  cargo  back,  if 
the  governor  would  give  his  permit.  Meantime  came  two 
other  vessels  ;  they  were  ordered  to  anchor  beside  the  first. 
The  committee  waited  again  upon  the  consignees,  but 
their  answer  was  unsatisfactory.  When  the  committee 
made  their  report  to  the  meeting,  not  a  word  was  said  ; 
the  assemblage  silently  broke  up.  The  consignees  were 
terribly  alarmed.  That  silence  was  ominous.  Hutchin- 
son's  two  sons  fled  to  the  fort,  to  the  protection  of  the 
regulars.  The  father  went  quietly  out  of  town.  His  ob- 
ject was  to  gain  time  till  the  twenty  days  should  ex- 
pire ;  then  the  ships  would  pass  into  the  hands  of  the 
Commissioners  of  Customs,  and  the  tea  would  be  safe  for 
his  sons. 

Another  meeting  of  the  people  was  protracted  till  after 
dark ;  on  the   morrow  the  twentieth  day  would   expire, 
tea  would  be  placed  beyond  their   reach.     At 


THE   DESTRUCTION    OF   THE   TEA.  303 

M  .» 

.^^_ 

length  the  owner  of  the  vessel  returned  from  his  mission  CHAP. 

to  the  governor,  and  reported  that  he  would  not  give  the  1 

permit  for  the  ships  to  leave  the  port.     "  This  meeting,"    1YY3. 
announced  Samuel  Adams,  "  can  do  nothing  more  to  save 
the  country." 

Immediately  a  shout,  somewhat  like  a  war-whoop, 
arose  from  a  hand  of  forty  or  fifty  "  very  dark  eomplex- 
ioned  men,  dressed  like  Mohawks,"  who  were  around  the 
door.  This  band  moved  hastily  down  to  the  wharf  where 
lay  the  tea  ships.  Placing  a  guard  to  protect  them  from  Dec. 
spies,  they  went  on  board  and  took  out  three  hundred  and 
forty-two  chests,  broke  them  open,  and  poured  the  tea 
into  the  water.  In  silence  the  crowd  on  shore  witnessed 
the  affair  ;  when  the  work  was  accomplished,  they  quietly 
retired  to  their  homes.  Paul  Severe  set  out  immediately 
to  carry  the  news  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

At  New  York,  a  tea  ship  was  sent  back  with  her  -pec 
cargo  ;  the  captain  was  escorted  out  of  the  city  by  the  25. 
Committee  of  Vigilance,  with  banners  flying  and  a  band 
playing  God  save  the  king.  Eighteen  chests  of  tea,  found 
concealed  on  board  another  vessel,  were  thrown  into  the 
dock.  In  Charleston  tea  was  permitted  to  be  landed, 
but  was  stowed  in  damp  cellars,  where  it  spoiled.  The 
captain  of  the  vessel  bound  for  Philadelphia,  when  four 
miles  below  the  city,  learned  that  the  citizens  would  not 
permit  him  to  land  his  cargo  ;  he  prudently  returned  to 
England.  At  Annapolis,  a  ship  and  its  cargo  were  both 
burned  ;  the  owner,  to  allay  the  excitement,  himself  ap- 
plying the  torch. 

Meantime  the  various  committees  of  correspondence 
were  making  preparations  -to  hold  a  congress  composed  of 
representatives  from  all  the  colonies.  Yet  they  said, 
and  no  doubt  honestly,  that  "their  old  good-will  and 
affection  for  the  parent  country  were  not  totally  lost." 
"If  she  returned  to  her  former  moderation  and  good  hu~, 
mor,  their  affection  would  revive." 


304  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.         When  it  became  known  in  England  that  the  auda- 

cious  colonists  would  not  even  permit  the  tea  to  be  landed, 

1774.  the  king  and  ministry  determined  to  make  their  power 
felt ;  and  especially  to  make  an  example  of  Boston.  Ac- 
cordingly a  bill  was  introduced  and  passed  in  Parliament, 
four  to  one,  to  close  her  port  to  all  commerce,  and  to 
transfer  the  seat  of  government  to  Salem.  Though  her 
June,  citizens  offered  remuneration  for  the  tea  destroyed,  yet 
Massachusetts  must  be  punished  ;  made  an  example,  to 
deter  other  outbreaks.  Parliament  immediately  passed  a 
series  of  laws  which  violated  her  charter  and  took  away 
her  privileges.  The  Port  Bill,  it  was  complacently  prophe- 
sied, will  make  Boston  submit ;  she  will  yet  come  as  a 
penitent,  and  promise  obedience  to  British  laws. 

Parliament  went  still  further,  and  passed  other  laws  ; 
one  for  quartering  soldiers,  at  the  people's  expense,  on  all 
the  colonies,  and  another  in  connection  with  it,  by  which 
officers,  who,  in  enforcing  this  particular  law,  should  com- 
mit acts  of  violence,  were  to  be  taken  to  England,  and 
tried  there  for  the  offence.  This  clause  would  encourage 
arbitrary  acts,  and  render  military  and  official  insolence 
still  more  intolerable.  To  these  was  added  another  law, 
known  as  the  Quebec  act  ;  it  granted  unusual  concessions 
to  the  Catholics  of  Canada — a  stroke  of  policy,  if  war 
should  occur  between  the  colonies  and  the  mother  country. 
This  act  revived  much  of  the  old  Protestant  feeling  latent 
in  the  minds  of  the  people.  These  laws,  opposed  by  many 
in  Parliament  as  unnecessary  and  tyrannical,  excited  in 
America  a  deep  feeling  of  indignation  against  the  English 
government. 

Everywhere  Boston  met  with  sympathy.  The  town  of 
Salem  refused  to  accept  the  proffered  boon  of  becoming 
the  seat  of  government  at  the  expense  of  her  neighbor, 
and  Marblehead  offered  her  port,  free  of  charge,  to  the 
merchants  of  Boston.  In  that  city  great  distress  was  ex- 
perienced ;  multitudes,  who  depended  upon  the  daily 


*      *• 


BOSTON   MEETS   WITH    SYMPATHY.  305 

labor  they  obtained  from  commerce,  were  out  of  employ-  CHAP. 

ment,  and  their  families  suffered.     The  different  colonies  1 

sent  to  their  aid  provisions  and  money  ;  these  were  accom-  1774. 
panied  by  words  of  encouragement,  to  stand  firm  in  the 
righteous  cause.  The  ordinary  necessaries  of  life  came 
from  their  neighbors  of  New  England.  "  The  patriotic 
and  generous  people "  of  South  Carolina  sent  them  two 
hundred  barrels  of  rice,  and  promised  eight  hundred  more, 
but  urged  them  "  not  to  pay  for  an  ounce  of  the  tea." 
In  North  Carolina  "  two  thousand  pounds  were  raised  by 
subscription "  and  sent.  Virginia  and  Maryland  vied 
with  each  other  in  the  good  work.  Washington  presided 
at  a  meeting  of  sympathizers,  and  subscribed  himself  fifty 
pounds  ;  and  even  the  farmers  on  the  western  frontiers  of 
the  Old  Dominion  sent  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  bar- 
rels of  flour. 

These  patriots  were  determined  "  that  the  men  of 
Boston,  who  were  deprived  of  their  daily  labor,  should  not 
lose  their  daily  bread,  nor  be  compelled  to  change  their 
residence  for  want."  l 

Even  the  citizens  of  Quebec,  French  and  English,  by 
joint  effort  sent  them  more  than  a  thousand  bushels  of 
wheat,  while  in  London  itself  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  were  subscribed  for  their  benefit.  Notwith- 
standing all  this  distress  no  riot  or,  outbreak  occurred 
among  the  people. 

General  Gage  was  now  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
British  army  in  America,  and  had  been  recently  appointed 
governor,  in  place  of  Hutchinson.  He  was  sadly  at  a  loss 
how  to  manage  the  Bostonians.  If  they  would  only  vio- 
late the  law,  he  could  exercise  his  civil  as  well  as  his  mili- 
tary authority.  They  held  meetings,  from  time  to  time, 
and  freely  discussed  their  public  affairs.  They  were  under 

J  Bancroft,  vol.  vii,  p.  75. 
20 


% 

306  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


the  control  of  leaders  who  never  lost  their  self-possession, 
nor  transcended  their  constitutional  rights.  The  govern- 
1774.  ment,  thinking  to  avoid  the  evil,  forbade  them  to  hold  such 
meetings,  after  a  certain  day.  They  evaded  the  law  "  by 
convoking  the  meetings  before  that  day,  and  keeping  them 
alive"  "  Faneuil  Hall  was  at  times  unable  to  hold  them, 
and  they  swarmed  from  that  revolutionary  hive  into  Old 
South  Church.  The  Liberty  Tree  became  a  rallying 
place  for  any  popular  movement,  and  a  flag  hoisted  on  it 
was  saluted  by  all  processions  as  the  emblem  of  the  popu- 
lar cause/'  * 

During  this  time,  the  people  throughout  the  colonies 
held  conventions  and  chose  delegates  to  the  General  Con- 
gress about  to  meet  at  Philadelphia.  One  of  these  meet- 
ings, held  in  the  "  Fields  "  in  New  York,  was  addressed 
by  a  youth  of  seventeen.  The  stripling  charmed  his  hear- 
ers by  his  fervor,  as  he  grappled  with  the  question  and 
presented  with  clearness  the  main  points  at  issue.  When 
he  closed,  a  whisper  ran  through  the  crowd,  "  It  is  a  col- 
legian." The  youth  was  Alexander  Hamilton,  a  native 
of  St.  KittSj  of  Scotch  and  French  descent,  his  mother  a 
Huguenot.  The  son  combined  the  caution  of  the  Scot 
with  the  vivacity  of  the  Gaul.  At  an  early  age  he  lost 
his  mother,  whose  memory  he  cherished  with  the  greatest 
devotion.  "A  father's  care  he  seems  never  to  have 
known."  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  was  thrown  upon  the 
world  to  depend  upon  his  own  resources.  He  came  to 
Boston,  and  thence  to  New  York,  where  he  found  means 
to  enter  King's,  since  Columbia  College.  He  had  been 
known  to  the  people  simply  as  the  West  Indian,  who 
walked  under  the  trees  in  the  college  green,  and  uncon- 
scious of  the  observation  of  others,  talked  to  himself. 
Henceforth  a  brilliant  mind  and  untiring  energies  were  to 
be  consecrated  to  the  welfare  of  the  land  that  had  adopted 
the  orphan. 


1  Washington  Irving. 


*  * 

THE  OLD  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS.  307 

When  the  time  came  for  the  meeting  of  the  General  CHAP. 

Congress,  known  as  the  Old  Continental  Congress,  fifty-  1 

five  delegates  assembled  in  the  Carpenters'  Hall,  in  the    1YH. 
city  of  Philadelphia.     Every  colony  was  represented,  ex- 
cept  Georgia.  Martin,  the  royalist  governor,  had  prevented 
delegates  from  being  chosen. 

Here  for  the  first  time  assembled  the  most  eminent 
men  of  the  colonies.  They  held  in  their  hands,  under  the 
Great  Disposer  of  all  things,  the  destinies  of  a  people  num- 
bering nearly  three  millions.  Here  were  names  now  sacred 
in  the  memories  of  Americans.  George  Washington, 
Patrick  Henry,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Edward  and  John 
Eutledge,  Gadsden,  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams,  Roger 
Sherman,  Philip  Livingston,  John  Jay,  William  Living- 
ston, Dr.  Witherspoon,  President  of  Princeton  College,  a 
Scotch  Presbyterian  minister,  who  had  come  over  some 
years  before,  but  was  said  to  be  "  as  high  a  son  of  liberty 
as  any  man  in  America,"  and  others  of  lesser  note,  but 
no  less  patriotism.  They  had  corresponded  with  each 
other,  and  exchanged  views  on  the  subject  of  their  coun- 
try's wrongs  ;  they  had  sympathized  as  brethren,  though 
many  of  them  were  to  each  other  personally  unknown.  It 
was  a  momentous  crisis,  and  they  felt  the  responsibility 
of  their  position. 

The  House  was  organized  by  electing  the  aged  Peyton 
Randolph,  of  Virginia,  Speaker,  and  Charles  Thomson,  of 
Pennsylvania,  Secretary.  A  native  of  Ireland,  when  a 
youth  he  came  to  America.  He  was  principal  of  the 
Quaker  High  School  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  proverbial 
for  his  truth  and  honesty. 

It  was;x  suggested  that  it  would  be  becoming  to  open 
their  sessions  with  prayer.  This  proposition  was  thought 
by  some  to  be  inexpedient,  since  perhaps  the  delegates 
could  not  all  join  in  the  same  form  of  worship.  At  length 
Samuel  Adams,  who  was  a  strict  Congregationalist,  arose 
and  said  :  "  I  will  willingly  join  in  prayer  with  any  gen- 


•  ' 


308  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

tleman  of  piety  and  virtue,  whatever  may  be  his  cloth, 
provided  he  is  a  friend  of  his  country."  On  his  motion, 
774.  the  Kev.  Mr.  Duche,  a  popular  Episcopal  clergyman,  of 
Philadelphia,  was  invited  to  officiate  as  chaplain.  Mr. 
Duche  accepted  the  invitation.  A  rumor,  in  the  mean 
time,  reached  Philadelphia  that  General  Gage  had  bom- 
barded Boston.  When  the  Congress  assembled  the  next 
morning,  anxiety  and  sympathy  were  depicted  on  every 
countenance.  The  rumor,  though  it  proved  to  be  false, 
excited  feelings  of  brotherhood,  hitherto  unknown. 

The  chaplain  read  the  thirty-fifth  psalm,  and  then, 
carried  away  by  his  emotions,  burst  forth  into  an  extem- 
porary prayer  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts  to  be  their  helper. 
"  It  seemed,"  says  John  Adams,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife, 
"  as  if  Heaven  had  ordained  that  psalm  to  be  read  on  that 
morning.  He  prayed,  in  language  eloquent  and  sublime, 
for  America,  for  the  Congress,  for  the  province  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  and  especially  for  the  town  of  Boston.  It 
has  had  an  excellent  effect  upon  everybody  here." 

When  the  prayer  was  closed,  a  long  and  death-like 
silence  ensued,  as  if  each  one  hesitated  "  to  open  a  busi- 
ness so  momentous."  At  length  Patrick  Hemy  slowly 
arose,  faltering  at  first,  "  as  if  borne  down  by  the  weight 
of  his  subject ;  "  but  the  fires  of  his  wonted  eloquence  be- 
gan to  glow,  as  he  recited  the  colonial  wrongs  already 
endured,  and  foretold  those  yet  to  come.  "  Kising,  as  he 
advanced,  with  the  grandeur  of  his  subject,  and  glowing 

Pat  length  with  all  the  majesty  and  expectation  of  the 
occasion,  his  speech  seemed  more  than  that  of  mortal 
man."  He  inspired  the  entire  Congress  with  his  liberal 
sentiments  ;  they  found  a  response  in  every  heart  when 
he  exclaimed  :  "  British  oppression  has  effaced  the  boun- 
daries of  the  several  colonies  ;  the  distinctions  between 
Virginians,  Pennsylvanians,  New  Yorkers,  and  New  Eng- 
landers,  are  no  more.  I  am  not  a  Virginian,  but  an 

American."     When  he  closed,  the  members  were  not 

; 


^ 

*  •  *  \    *  ' 


' 


Ttf.Y. 


* 


rv. 


*.. 


^^  m^^        ^| 

THE   PAPERS   ISSUED    BY    CONGRESS.  309 

P. 

merely  astonished  at    his   matchless  eloquence,  but  the   CHAP. 
importance  of  the  subject  had  overwhelmed  them. 

1TT4. 

The  Congress  appointed  a  committee,  which  drew  up 
a  u  Declaration  of  Eights."  In  this  they  enumerated 
their  natural  rights  to  the  enjoyment  of  life,  liberty,  and 
property  ;  as  British  subjects,  they  claimed  to  participate 
in  making  their  own  laws  ;  in  imposing  their  own  taxes  ; 
the  right  of  trial  by  jury  in  the  vicinage  ;  of  holding  pub- 
lic meetings,  and  of  petitioning  for  redress  of  grievances. 
They  protested  against  a  standing  army  in  the  colonies 
without  their  consent,  and  against  eleven  acts  passed  since 
the  accession  of  George  III.,  as  violating  the  rights  of  the 
colonies.  It  was  added,  "  To  these  grievous  acts  and 
measures  Americans  cannot  submit." 

To  obtain  redress  they  resolved  to  enter  upon  peacea- 
ble measures.  They  agreed  to  form  an  "  American  Asso- 
ciation," in  whose  articles  they  pledged  themselves  not  to 
trade  with  Great  Britain  or  the  West  Indies,  nor  with 
those  engaged  in  the  slave-trade — which  was  especially 
denounced — not  to  use  British  goods  or  tea,  and  not  to 
trade  with  any  colony  which  would  refuse  to  join  the  asso- 
ciation. Committees  were  to  be  appointed  in  the  various 
districts  to  see  that  these  articles  were  strictly  carried  into 
effect. 

Elaborate  papers  were  also  issued,  in  which  the  views 
of  the  Congress  were  set  forth  still  more  fully.  A  petition 
to  the  king  was  written  by  John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylva- 
nia ;  he  also  wrote  an  Address  to  the  people  of  Canada. 
The  Memorial  to  the  people  of  the  colonies  was  written 
by  Eichard  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  and  the  Address  to 
the  people  of  Great  Britain  by  John  Jay,  of  New  York. 

Every  measure  was  carefully  discussed,  and  though  on 
some  points  there  was  much  diversity  of  opinion,  yet,  as 
Congress  sat  with  closed  doors,  only  the  results  of  these 
discussions  went  forth  to  the  country,  embodied  in  resolu- 

.«*.:•  * 


- 


* 


310 


HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 


CHAP,  tions,  and  signed  by  the  members.    These  papers  attracted 
the  attention  of  thinking  men  in  England.     Said  Chat- 

*17T4.  ham,  "When  your  lordships  look  at  the  papers  trans- 
mitted to  us  from  America  ;  when  you  consider  their 
decency,  firmness,  and  wisdom,  you  cannot  but  respect 
their  cause,  and  wish  to  make  it  your  own.  For  myself, 
I  must  avow,  and  I  have  studied  the  master  states  of  the 
world,  I  know  not  the  people,  or  senate,  who,  for  solidity 
of  reason,  force  of  sagacity,  and  wisdom  of  conclusion, 
under  such  a  complication  of  difficult  circumstances,  can 
stand  in  preference  to  the  delegates  of  America  assembled 
in  General  Congress  at  Philadelphia.  The  histories  of 
Greece  and  Eome  give  us  nothing  equal  to  it,  and  all 
attempts  to  impose  servitude  upon  such  a  mighty  conti- 
nental nation,  must  be  vain." 


* 

* 


« 


1 


**t 


CHAPTEK    XXVII. 


COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 

The  Spirit  of  the  People. — Gage  alarmed. — The  People  seize  Guns  and  Am- 
munition.— The  Massachusetts  Provincial  Congress ;  its  Measures. — 
Parliament  passes  the  Restraining  Bill.— -Conflicts  at  Lexington  and 
Concord. — Volunteers  fly  to  Arms,  and  beleaguer  Boston. — Stark. — 
Putnam. — Benedict  Arnold. — Ethan  Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys. — Capture  of  Ticonderoga. — Lord  Dunmore  in  Virginia. — Patrick 
Henry  and  the  Independent  Companies. — The  News  from  Lexington 
rouses  a  Spirit  of  Resistance. — The  second  Continental  Congress ;  it 
takes  decisive  Measures ;  adopts  the  Army  before  Boston,  and  ap- 
points Washington  Commander-in-chief. 

WHILE  Congress  was  yet  in  session,  affairs  began  to  wear 
a  serious  aspect  in  and  around  Boston.  The  people  were 
practising  military  exercises.  Every  village  and  district 
had  its  company  of  minute-men — men  pledged  to  each 
other  to  be  ready  for  action  at  a  minute's  warning.  Eng- 
land soon  furnished  them  an  occasion.  The  ministry  pro- 
hibited the  exportation  of  military  stores  to  America,  and 
sent  secret  orders  to  the  royal  governors,  to  seize  all  the 
arms  and  gunpowder  in  the  magazines.  Gage  complied 
with  these  orders.  When  it  became  known  that  he  had 
secretly  sent  a  company  of  soldiers  by  night,  who  had 
seized  the  powder  in  the  arsenal  at  Charlestown,  and  con- 
veyed it  to  Castle  William,  the  minute-men  assembled  at 
once.  Their  eagerness  to  go  to  the  governor  and  compel 
him  to  restore  it  to  the  arsenal  could  scarcely  be  restrained. 
Ere  long  various  rumors  were  rife  in  the  country — that 
Boston  was  to  be  attacked  ;  that  the  fleet  was  bombarding 

•• 


1 


1771. 

$i'  t 
*       * 


* 


&  & 
"•I 


312  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


* 


* 


xxvFi    ^  '  ^a^  ^e  s°ldiers  were  shooting  down  the  citizens  in  its 
-  streets.     Thousands  of  the  sturdy  yeomanry  of   Massa- 

1774.  chusetts  and  Connecticut  credited  these  rumors  ;  they 
left  their  farms  and  their  shops,  and  hastened  to  the  res- 
cue. Before  they  had  advanced  far  they  learned  that  the 
reports  were  untrue.  General  Gage  was  alarmed  by  this 
significant  movement  ;  he  did  not  apprehend  its  full  im- 
port, neither  did  he  rightly  discern  the  signs  of  the  times, 
nor  read  the  spirit  of  the  people  ;  he  was  a  soldier,  and 
understood  the  power  that  lies  in  soldiers  and  fortifications, 
but  knew  nothing  of  the  power  of  free  principles.  He 
determined  to  fortify  the  neck  which  connects  Boston  with 
the  mainland,  and  place  there  a  regiment,  to  cut  off  all 
communication  between  the  people  in  the  country  and 
those  in  the  town. 

1774.         Intelligence  of  these  proceedings  spread  rapidly  through 

Dec.  the  land.  The  people  took  possession  of  the  arsenal  at 
Charlestown,  from  which  the  powder  had  been  removed. 
At  Portsmouth,  in  New  Hampshire,  a  company,  led  by 
John  Sullivan,  afterward  a  major-general,  captured  the 
fort,  and  carried  off  one  hundred  barrels  of  powder  and 
some  cannon.  At  Newport,  in  the  absence  of  the  men-of- 
war,  forty-four  pieces  of  artillery  were  seized  and  conveyed 
to  Providence.  In  Connecticut,  the  Assembly  enjoined 
upon  the  towns  to  lay  in  a  double  supply  of  ammunition, 
to  mount  their  cannon,  and  to  train  the  militia  frequently. 
This  spirit  was  not  confined  to  New  England,  but  pre- 
vailed in  the  middle  and  southern  colonies,  where  the  peo- 
ple took  energetic  measures  to  put  themselves  in  a  posture 
of  defence. 

In  the  midst  of  this  commotion,  Gage,  thinking  to 
conciliate,  summoned    the    Massachusetts   Assembly  to 

Oct.    meet  at  Salem  ;  but,  alarmed  at  the  spirit  manifested  at 
5*      the  town  meetings  in  the  province,  he  countermanded  the 
order.     The  Assembly,  however,  met  ;  and  as  no  one  ap- 
peared to  administer  the  oaths,  and  open  the  session,  the 


_ 

MASSACHUSETTS    ADOPTS   DECIDED    MEASURES.  313 

members  adjourned  to  Concord,  and  there  organized  as  a 
Provincial  Congress.  They  elected  John  Hancock  Presi- 
dent,  and  Benjamin  Lincoln  Secretary.  Lincoln  was  a  17V4. 
farmer,  and  afterward  became  an  efficient  major-general 
in  the  revolutionary  army.  This  was  the  first  provincial 
Assembly  organized  independently  of  royal  authority. 

They  sent  an  address  to  Gage,  in  which  they  com- 
plained of  the  recent  acts  of  Parliament  ;  of  his  own  high- 
handed measures  ;  of  his  fortifying  Boston  Keck,  and 
requested  him  to  desist ;  at  the  same  time  they  protested 
their  loyalty  to  the  king,  and  their  desire  for  peace  and 
order.  Gage  replied  that  he  was  acting  in  self-defence, 
and  admonished  them  to  desist  from  their  own  unlawful 
proceedings. 

The  Assembly  disregarded  the  admonition,  went  quiet- 
ly to  work,  appointed  two  committees,  one  of  safety,  and 
the  other  of  supplies, — the  former  was  empowered  to 
call  out  the  minute-men,  when  it  was  necessary,  and  the 
latter  to  supply  them  with  provisions  of  all  kinds.  They 
then  appointed  two  general  officers — Artemas  Ward,  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  court,  and  Seth  Pomeroy,  a  veteran 
of  threescore  and  ten,  who  had  seen  service  in  the  French 
war.  They  resolved  to  enlist  twelve  thousand  minute- 
men,  and  invited  the  other  New  England  colonies  to  in- 
crease the  number  to  twenty  thousand.  The  note  of  alarm 
was  everywhere  heard  ;  preparations  for  defence  were 
everywhere  apparent.  In  Virginia  the  militia  companies 
burnished  their  arms  and  practised  their  exercises.  Wash- 
ington, their  highest  military  authority,  was  invited,  and 
often  visited  different  parts  of  the  country,  to  inspect  these 
volunteers  on  their  review  days. 

The  attention  of  all  was  now  turned  to  the  new  Par-    1775. 
liament  about  to  assemble.     To  some  extent,  a  change    ^ 
had  come  over  the  minds  of  many  of  the  English  people  ; 
the  religious  sympathies  of  the  Dissenters  were  specially 
enlisted  in  favor  of  the  colonists.     The  papers  issued  by 


., 
• 

v  «R    t  ^ 

314  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

xxvn    ^e  Continental  Congress  had  been  published  and  circu- 

lated  extensively  in  England,  by  the  exertions  of  Franklin 

1775.  and  others.  Their  plain,  unvarnished  statements  of  facts, 
and  their  claim  for  the  colonists  to  enjoy  British  as  well 
as  natural  rights,  had  elicited  sympathy. 

Chatham,  though  much  enfeebled,  hurried  up  to  Lon- 
don to  plead  once  more  for  American  rights.  He  brought 
in  a  bill,  which  he  hoped  would  remove  the  difficulties  ; 
but  the  House  spurned  every  scheme  of  reconciliation 
short  of  absolute  submission  on  the  part  of  the  colonists. 
Lord  North,  urged  on  by  his  colleagues  in  the  ministry, 
whom  he  had  not  strength  of  will  to  resist,  went  further 
than  ever.  The  Boston  Port  Bill  had  not  accomplished 
its  design  ;  and  now  he  introduced  what  was  termed  the 
New  England  Kestraining  Bill,  which  deprived  the  people 
of  those  colonies  of  the  privilege  of  fishing  on  the  banks 
of  Newfoundland.  He  declared  Massachusetts  was  in 
rebellion,  and  the  other  colonies,  by  their  associations, 
were  aiding  and  abetting  her.  Parliament  pledged  itself 
to  aid  the  king  in  maintaining  his  authority. 
Mar.  The  next  month  came  intelligence  to  England,  that 

the  Colonial  Assemblies  had  not  only  approved  the  reso- 
lutions of  the  Continental  Congress,  but  had  determined 
to  support  them.  To  punish  them  for  this  audacity,  Par- 
liament passed  a  second  Kestraining  Act,  to  apply  to  all 
the  colonies  except  New  York,  Delaware,  and  North  Car- 
olina. The  object  of  this  mark  of  favor  signally  failed  ; 
these  colonies  could  not  be  bribed  to  desert  their  sisters. 

-*£»' 

General  Gage  had  learned,  by  means  of  spies,  that  at 
Concord,  eighteen  miles  from  Boston,  the  patriots  had 
collected  ammunition  and  military  stores.  These  he  de- 
termined to  destroy.  His  preparations  were  made  with 
the  greatest  secrecy  ;  but  the  Sons  of  Liberty  were  vigi- 
lant. Dr.  Warren,  one  of  the  committee  of  safety,  noticed 
the  unusual  stir ;  the  collection  of  boats  at  certain  points  ; 


LEXINGTON.  315 


that  the  light  infantry  and  grenadiers  were  taken  off  duty.   CHAP. 

He  sent  information  of  what  he  had  seen  and  suspected  '. 

to  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams,  who  were  at  Lex-  1775. 
ington.  It  was  rightly  surmised  that  Concord  was  the 
object  of  the  intended  expedition.  It  was  to  leave  Boston 
on  the  night  of  the  eighteenth  of  April ;  on  that  day  j^1 
Gage  issued  orders  forbidding  any  one  to  leave  the  town 
after  dark.  Again  the  vigilance  of  Warren  had  antici- 
pated him.  Before  his  order  could  go  into  effect,  Paul 
Kevere  and  William  Dawes,  two  swift  and  trusty  messen- 
gers, were  on  the  way  to  the  country,  by  different  routes. 
A  lantern  held  out  from  the  steeple  of  the  North  Church — 
the  concerted  signal  to  the  patriots  in  Charlestown — 
warned  them  that  something  unusual  was  going  on.  Mes- 
sengers from  that  place  hurried  to  rouse  the  country. 

About  ten  o'clock,  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  eight 
or  nine  hundred  men,  light  infantry  and  grenadiers,  em- 
barked and  crossed  to  Cambridge,  and  thence,  with  as 
little  noise  as  possible,  took  up  their  line  of  march.  To 
their  surprise  they  heard  in  advance  of  them  the  tolling 
of  bells,  and  the  firing  of  alarm  guns  ;  evidently  they 
were  discovered.  Lieutenant-colonel  Smith  sent  back  to 
Gage  for  reinforcements,  and  also  ordered  Major  Pitcairn 
to  press  forward,  and  seize  the  two  bridges  at  Concord. 
Pitcairn  advanced  rapidly  and  arrested  every  person  he 
met  or  overtook,  but  a  countryman,  who  evaded  him, 
spurred  on  to  Lexington,  and  gave  the  alarm.  At  dawn 
of  day  Pitcairn's  division  reached  that  place.  Seventy 
or  eighty  minute-men,  with  some  other  persons,  were  on 
the  green.  They  were  uncertain  as  to  the  object  of  the 
British.  It  was  thought  they  wished  to  arrest  Hancock 
and  Adams,  both  of  whom  had  left  the  place.  Pitcairn 
ordered  his  men  to  halt  and  load  their  muskets  ;  then 
riding  up  he  cried  out, — "  Disperse,  you  rebels."  "  Down 
with  your  arms,  you  villains,  and  disperse,"  was  echoed 
by  his  officers.  Confusion  ensued  ;  random  shots  were 


316  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


E   U 


xxvn   ^re(^  on  ^°^  S^es  t  ^nenj  by  a  volley  from  the  British, 
_  seven  men  were  killed  and  nine  wounded.     The  Ameri- 


1775.  cans  dispersed,  and  the  British  soldiers  gave  three  cheers 
for  their  victory  !  By  whom  the  first  shot  was  fired  is 
uncertain.  Each  party  charged  it  upon  the  other.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  here  was  commenced  the  eight  years'  war 
of  the  revolution. 

Presently  Colonel  Smith  came  up,  and  in  half  an  hour 
the  entire  body  moved  on  toward  Concord,  six  miles  dis- 
tant. Information  of  the  firing  at  Lexington  had  already 
reached  that  place.  The  minute-men  were  assembled  on 
the  green  near  the  church.  About  seven  o'clock  the  ene- 
my appeared,  in  two  divisions.  The  minute-men  retreated 
across  a  bridge  to  the  top  of  a  neighboring  hill.  The 
British  placed  a  strong  guard  at  the  bridge,  and  spent 
two  hours  in  destroying  what  stores  they  could  find,  as  the 
greater  part  had  been  concealed,  and  pillaging  some  private 
dwellings.  Meantime  the  -little  company  on  the  hill  in- 
creased rapidly,  and  soon  it  numbered  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty.  They  advanced  upon  the  guard,  who  fired  upon 
them,  and  skirmishing  commenced.  As  the  British  began 
to  retreat  they  were  followed  by  an  irregular  and  galling 
fire  from  behind  trees,  and  fences,  and  houses.  In  vain 
they  sent  flanking-parties  to  free  themselves  from  their 
assailants,  who  were  increasing  every  minute  ;  the  nimble 
yeomanry  would  retire  before  these  parties,  only  to  appear 
at  a  more  favorable  point.  Colonel  Smith  was  severely 
wounded,  and  many  of  his  men  killed.  He  had  consumed 
more  than  two  hours  in  retreating  to  Lexington  ;  there, 
fortunately  for  him,  Lord  Percy,  who  insultingly  had 
marched  out  of  Boston  to  the  tune  of  Yankee  Doodle, 
met  him  with  a  thousand  men  and  two  field-pieces.  The 
fainting  and  exhausted  troops  were  received  in  a  hollow 
square,  where  they  rested,  while  the  fresh  soldiers  kept  the 
indomitable  "  rebels  "  at  bay  with  their  field-pieces. 
While  the  enemy  were  thus  halting,  General  Heath, 

-    **      V        '*'**" 


* 


«£>  4*  ,.   *"  v  *  * 

THE  HASTY  RETREAT — -VOLUNTEERS  FLY  TO  ARMS.     317 

r«*  L  i  ^  •*  • 

whom  the   Massachusetts  Provincial   Congress   had   ap-    CHAP. 

pointed   to  command  the  minute-men,  came  upon  the  ! 

ground,  and  also  Dr.  Warren.     They  directed  the  Ameri-    1775. 
cans,  whose  attacks  were  now  more  in  concert,  but  still  *  . ; 

irregular.  The  British  set  fire  to  dwellings  in  Lexington, 
then  renewed  their  retreat,  pillaging  and  burning  as  they 
went.  The  Americans,  greatly  exasperated,  harassed  them 
at  every  step.  Lord  Percy's  condition  became  very  criti- 
cal. The  country  was  roused  ;  new  assailants  poured  in 
from  every  side  ;  every  moment  he  was  more  and  more 
encumbered  by  the  number  of  the  wounded,  while  his  am- 
munition was  nearly  exhausted.  Had  he  been  delayed  an 
hour  longer,  his  retreat  would  have  been  cut  off  by  a  pow- 
erful force  from  Marblehead  and  Salem.  "  If  the  retreat," 
writes  Washington,  "  had  not  been  as  precipitate  as  it 
was — and  God  knows  it  could  not  well  have  been  more  , 

so — the  ministerial  troops  must  have  surrendered,  or  been 
totally  cut  off."  In  this  affair,  about  eighty  of  the  Ameri- 
cans were  killed  or  wounded,  and  of  the  British  nearly 
three  hundred. 

Intelligence  of  this  conflict  spread  rapidly  through  the 
country  ;  couriers   hastened  from   colony  to  colony.     In  * 
New  England,  volunteers  flew  to  arms,  and  in  ten  days 
an  irregular  army  completely  blockaded   the  British  in 
Boston,  by  a  line  of  encampments,  that   extended  from 
Koxbury  to  beyond  Charlestown — a  distance  of  nine  miles.  - 
The  fire  of  other  days  glowed  in  the  breasts  of  the  old 
campaigners  of  the  French  war, — none  were  more  ready 
than  they.     John  Stark,  whom  we  have,  seen  leading  his 

men  in  that  war,  waited  not  for  invitation  nor  commission ; 

7 

in  ten  minutes  after  he  heard  the  news  he  was  on  his  way. 
Israel  Putnam,  another  name  associated  with  deeds  of 
daring  in  French  and  Indian  warfare,  was  laboring  in  his 
field  when  the  courier  passed  along.  He  left  the  work, 
mounted  a  horse,  roused  his  neighbors,  and,  without 
changing  his  clothes,  hastened  to  Boston.  Putnam  was 


,    v 


.**• 

It  , 


318  HISTOBY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xrra    a  na*ive  °f  Salem,  Massachusetts,  but  for  many  years  a 

resident  of  Connecticut.     Though  now  almost  sixty  years 

1775.  of  age,  he  was  buoyant  in  spirits  as  a  boy,  impulsive  and 
frank  as  he  was  fearless,  and  too  generous  to  suspect 
others  of  guile. 

At  this  crisis,  the  Massachusetts  Congress  took  ener- 
V  getic  measures.  A  regiment  of  artillery  was  formed,  the 
command  of  which  was  given  to  the  aged  Gridley,  who, 
thirty  years  before,  commanded  the  artillery  at  the  taking 
of  Louisburg.  In  the  other  colonies,  the  people  were  not 
inactive  ;  they  seized  arms  and  ammunition  wherever 
found,  repudiated  the  royal  authority,  and  each  for  itself 
called  a  Provincial  Congress. 

It  was  suggested  to  the  Massachusetts  Committee  of 
Safety  to  seize  the  two  posts,  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  thus  secure  the  "  key  of 
Canada,"  as  well  as  the  cannon  and  other  military  stores 
there  deposited.  Benedict  Arnold,  who  commanded  a 
company  in  the  camp  before  Boston,  entered  into  the  proj- 
ect with  great  ardor.  Arnold  was  a  man  of  impulsive 
temper,  petulant,  headstrong,  and  reckless  of  danger  ;  he 
thirsted  for  an  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself.  The 
Committee  gave  him  the  commission  of  colonel,  with  au- 
thority to  raise  men  and  accomplish  the  object.  He 
learned  that  others  were  engaged  in  the  same  enterprise, 
and  without  waiting  to  enlist  men,  he  set  out  immediately 
for  Vermont.  There  he  met  the  redoubtable  Ethan  Al- 
len— an  original  character — who  from  his  very  singulari- 
ties exerted  a  great  influence  over  his  companions.  When 
he  harangued  them,  as  he  often  did,  "  his  style,  though  a 
singular  compound  of  local  barbarisms,  and  scriptural 
phrases,  and  oriental  -wildness,  was  highly  animated  and 
^  ^forcible."  The  territory  now  known  as  the  State  of  Ver- 
%  %i  f^mont,  was  claimed  at  this  time  by  both  New  York  and 
New  Hampshire ;  -but  the  inhabitants  preferred  to  live 

FC**4T  *•' 

s*  •*. 

*.:f  4-  '    3 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 


under  the  rule  of  the  latter,  and  formed  combinations  to   CHAP. 

resist  the  authority  of  New  York.     Allen  was  the  leader  \ 

of  "the  Green  Mountain  Boys,"  an  association  formed    1775. 
for  this  purpose. 

These  Green  Mountain  Boys,  numbering  about  two 
hundred  and  seventy,  with  Allen  at  their  head,  were  al- 
ready on  their  way  to  Ticonderoga.  Within  a  few  miles 
of  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain,  Arnold  overtook  them. 
By  virtue  of  his  commission  as  colonel,  he  ordered  Allen 
to  surrender  the  command  into  his  hands.  Allen  refused, 
nor  would  his  men  march  under  any  other  leader.  It  was 
finally  arranged  that  Arnold  should  go  as  a  volunteer,  re- 
taining the  rank  of  colonel  without  the  command.  The 
following  night  the  party  reached  Shoreham,  a  point  on 
the  lake  opposite  Ticonderoga.  At  dawn  of  day,  as  they 
had  but  few  boats,  only  eighty-three  men  with  Arnold 
and  Allen  had  crossed  over. 

They  could  delay  no  longer,  lest  they  should  be  dis- 
covered, and  Allen  proposed  to  move  on  at  once  to  the 
fort.'  Guided  by  a  boy  of  the  neighborhood,  a  brisk  run 
up  the  hill  soon  brought  them  to  the  entrance.  They 
secured  the  two  sentinels,  one  of  whom  they  compelled  to 
show  the  way  to  the  quarters  of  Captain  Delaplace,  the 
commandant.  The  vigorous  knocks  of  Allen  at  his  door 
soon  roused  him.  When  he  appeared,  half-awake  and 
half-dressed,  Allen  flourished  his  sword,  and  called  upon 
him  to  surrender  the  fort.  The  commandant  stammered 
out,  "  By  whose  authority  do  you  act  ?  "  "  In  the  name 
of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress," 
thundered  Allen.  This  was  a  demonstration  not  to  be 
resisted.  The  cheers  of  Allen's  men  had  already  roused 
the  garrison,  all  of  whom  were  taken  prisoners. 

Two  days  later  Seth  Warner,  Allen's  lieutenant,  with 
a  detachment,  took  Crown  Point.  Arnold  then  obtained 
boats,  pushed  on,  and  captured  St.  John's  in  the  Sorel. 
Altogether,  sixty  prisoners  were  taken,  and  what  was  far 


£ 


>  * 

320  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP    more  important,  two  hundred  cannons  and  a  large  supply 

XAVll.  • 

of  gunpowder. 

1775. 

Two  days  after  the  affair  at  Lexington,  Lord  Dunmore, 
governor  of  Virginia,  sent  a  company  of  marines,  who,  in 
April    the  night,  entered  the  capital,  Williamsburg,  and  carried 
20-     off  from  the  public  arsenal  about  twenty  barrels  of  powder, 
and  conveyed  them  on  board  an  armed  schooner  lying  in 
James  river.     When  the  inhabitants  learned  the  fact  the 
next  morning,  they  were  greatly  exasperated.     Numbers 
flew  to  arms  with  the  intention  of  recovering  the  powder. 
By  the  persuasions  of  the  leading  citizens,  and  of  the 
*      council,  they  were  restrained  from  acts  of  violence. 

The  Council,  however,  addressed  a  remonstrance  to 
the  governor,  who  promised,  verbally,  to  restore  the  pow- 
der when  it  should  be  needed.  The  people  deemed  his 
answer  unsatisfactory.  When  intelligence  came  of  the 
conflict  at  Concord;  it  flashed  upon  their  minds  that  the 
seizure  of  the  powder  and  munitions  of  war  in  the  colonies 
was  concerted  by  the  royal  governors,  in  accordance  with 
instructions  from  the  ministry. 

Patrick  Henry  invited  the  independent  companies  of 
the  county  of  Hanover  to  meet  him  at  a  certain  place  on 
the  second  of  May.  They,  seven  hundred  strong,  obeyed 
the  call.  He  made  known  why  they  were  called  together ; 
spoke  of  the  fight  at  Concord,  and  the  occasion  of  it. 
Then,  at  their  head,  he  marched  towards  Williamsburg, 
determined  either  to  have  the  powder  returned,  or  its 
value  in  money.  On  their  way  a  messenger  from  the 
frightened  governor  met  them,  and  tendered  the  money 
for  the  full  value  of  the  powder.  The  money  was  after- 
ward sent  to  Congress. 

The  companies  now  disbanded,  with  the  understanding 
that  when  called  upon,  they  were  to  be  ready  to  march  at 
a  minute's  warning.     Thus  did  Virginia  emulate  Massa- 
chusetts. 
^r'.jfc         ^^  w_ . ' 

*•'  •*      ' «     *-*.Vv    '-t;' 
•*  *        \ 

,  «*   *    ¥    '.  v-»    :,•.*•«§•  •••  v: 

*»v»;  *'•     $t      • 

• 


THE    PEOPLE    KISE    IN    OPPOSITION. 

Dunmore,  in  the  mean  while,  fled  with  his  family  on 
board  a  man-of-war,  and  thence  issued  one  of  his  harmless 
proclamations,  in  which  he  declared  "  a  certain  Patrick 
Henry  and  his  associates  to  be  in  rebellion/'' 

A  few  days  before  he  had  said,  "The  whole  country 
can  easily  be  made  a  solitude  ;  "  and  he  threatened  to 
declare  freedom  to  the  slaves,  arm  them,  and  lay  Wil- 
liamsburg  in  ashes  ! 

As  the  news  from  Lexington  and  Concord  reached  the 
various  portions  of  the  colonies  the  people  rose  in  opposi- 
tion. The  whigs  were  indignant  at  the  outrage,  and  the 
royalists  censured  Gage  for  his  rash  and  harsh  measures. 

In  New  York,  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  with  Eobert  Sears, 
the  sturdy  mechanic,  at  their  head,  seized  eighty  thousand 
pounds  of  flour,  which  was  on  board  of  sloops  ready  to  be 
taken  to  Boston  for  the  king's  troops  ;  they  shut  up  the 
custom-house,  and  forbade  vessels  to  leave  the  harbor  for 
any  colony  or  port  which  acknowledged  British  authority  ; 
they  secured  the  arms  and  ammunition  belonging  to  the 
city,  while  the  volunteers  turned  out  and  paraded  the 
streets.  The  General  Committee  was  dilatory  ;  another 
was  chosen  to  act  with  more  energy.  An  association  was 
formed  whose  members  pledged  themselves,  "  under  all 
ties  of  religion,  honor,  and  love  of  country,  to  submit  to 
committees  and  to  Congress,  to  withhold  supplies  from 
the  British  troops,  and,  at  the  risk  of  lives  and  fortunes, 
to  repel  every  attempt  at  enforcing  taxation  by  Parlia- 
ment." 

Similar  was  the  spirit  manifested  in  the  Jerseys.  In 
Philadelphia,  thousands  of  the  citizens  assembled  and 
resolved,  "  To  associate  for  the  purpose  of  defending  with 
arms,  their  lives,  their  property,  and  liberty."  Thomas 
Mifflin,  the  warlike  young  Quaker,  urged  them  in  his 
speech,  "  not  to  be  bold  in  declarations  and  cold  in  action/' 
Military  companies  were  formed  in  the  neighboring  coun- 


321 


CHAP. 
XXVII. 


1775. 


21 


* 
* 


,  ** 


A 

322  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


xxvn    ^es?  as  we^  as  *n  ^e  c*ty>  w^°  armed-   themselves   and 
.  _  daily  practised  their  exercises. 

1775.  In  Maryland,  Eden,  the  royalist  governor,  in  order  to 
conciliate,  gave  up  to  the  people  the  arms  and  ammunition 
of  the  province. 

In  Charleston,  the  people  at  once  distributed  the 
twelve  hundred  stand  of  arms  which  they  seized  in  the 
royal  arsenal,  while  the  Provincial  Congress,  with  Henry 
Laurens,  a  Huguenot  by  descent,  as  their  president,  de- 
clared themselves  "  ready  to  sacrifice  their  lives  and  for- 
tunes to  secure  freedom  and  safety."  The  officers  of  the 
militia  threw  up  their  commissions  from  the  governor,  and 
declared  themselves  ready  to  submit  to  the  authority  of 
Congress.  Eegiments  of  infantry  and  rangers  were  imme- 
diately raised. 

Georgia,  which  had  hitherto  been  lukewarm,  now  took 
decided  ground.  The  people  broke  into  the  royal  maga- 
zine, from  which  they  took  all  the  powder,  five  hundred 
pounds.  The  committee  wrote  words  of  encouragement 
and  commendation  to  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  and 
sent  them  rice  and  specie. 

In  North  Carolina,  as  the  news  passed  from  place  to 
place,  it  awakened  the  spirit  of  resistance  to  tyranny. 
The  highlands  along  her  western  frontier  were  settled  by 
Presbyterians  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  "  who  were  said  to 
possess  the  impulsiveness  of  the  Irishman  with  the  dogged 
resolution  of  the  Covenanter."  A  county  convention  was 
in  session  when  the  courier  arrived.*  Fired  with  indigna- 
tion, the  delegates  resolved  to  throw  off  "  the  authority 
of  the  king  and  Parliament."  Ephraim  Brevard,  "  trained 
in  the  college  at  Princeton,"  and  afterward  a  martyr  in 
the  cause,  embodied  their  sentiments  in  resolutions,  which 
declared  :  "  All  laws  and  commissions,  confirmed  by  or 
derived  from  the  authority  of  the  king  and  Parliament  to 
be  annulled  and  vacated."  To  maintain  their  rights,  they 
also  determined  to  form  nine  military  companies,  and  to 


i   *' 


r 

THE  SECOND  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS.  323 

frame  laws  for  the  internal  government  of  the  country. 
This  was  the  famous  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence,  1TT5. 

Such  was  the  spirit  that  pervaded  the  minds  of  the 
entire  people.  Throughout  the  land  free  principles  had 
laid  the  train — the  spark  was  applied  at  Lexington. 

* 

On  the  tenth  of  May  the  second  Continental  Congress    May 
commenced  its  session  at  Philadelphia.     They  organized     10* 
without  changing  the  officers  of  the  year  before.     In  a 
few  days,  however,  Peyton  Eandolph  resigned  the  presi- 
dency to  return  to  Virginia  and  preside  over  the  Assembly, 
which  had  been  called  by  the  governor. 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  sent  to  supply  his  place  as  a 
delegate,  and  John  Hancock  was  elected  president.  Har- 
rison, of  Virginia,  in  conducting  him  to  the  chair,  said  : 
"  We  will  show  Britain  how  much  we  value  her  pro- 
scriptions." For  it  was  well  known  that  Hancock  and 
Samuel  Adams  were  deemed  rebels  too  great  to  be  par- 
doned. 

Dr.  Franklin  had  returned  only  a  few  days  before  from 
England,  where  he  had  been  for  some  years  in  the  capacity 
of  agent  for  some  of  the  colonies.  There  his  enlightened 
statesmanship  and  far-seeing  judgment  had  won  the  re- 
spect of  liberal-minded  Englishmen.  He  was  at  once 
chosen  a  delegate.  Also,  in  addition  to  the  members  of 
the  first  Congress,  appeared  George  Clinton  and  Kobert  K. 
Livingston,  from  New  York. 

The  members  were  encouraged,  for  the  measures  of  the 
first  Congress  had  been  approved  by  the  assemblies  of  all 
the  colonies. 

The  first  General  Congress  met  to  protest  and  peti- 
tion ;  the  second  to  assume  authority  and  take  decisive 
measures.  Then  the  door  was  open  for  reconciliation  with 
the  mother  country,  now  it  was  almost  closed.  The  face 
of  affairs  was  changed  ;  blood  had  been  wantonly  shed, 


324  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  and  a  beleaguering  host  of  rustic  soldiery  were  besieging 
the  enemy. 


1775.  Congress  was  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  time.  In 
committee  of  the  whole  reports  were  called  for  on  the 
state  of  the  country.  These  disposed  of,  they  passed  to 
other  matters  ;  reviewed  the  events  of  the  last  year ;  inves- 
tigated the  causes  which  led  to  the  conflicts  at  Lexington 
and  Concord.  The  timid  proposed  to  memorialize  Parlia- 
ment once  more.  No  !  argued  John  Adams,  and  many 
others  ;  it  is  useless,  we  have  been  spurned  from  the 
throne,  and  our  petitions  treated  with  contempt  ;  such  a 
memorial  would  embarrass  our  proceedings,  and  have  no 
influence  upon  Parliament.  Yet  another  petition  was,  in 
form,  voted  to  the  king,  and  while  they  denied  any  inten- 
tion to  cast  off  their  allegiance,  they  proceeded  to  put  the 
colonies  in  a  posture  of  defence. 

They  formed  a  "  Federal  Union/'  by  whose  provisions 
each  colony  was  to  manage  its  own  internal  concerns  ;  but 
all  measures  pertaining  to  the  whole  community,  such  as 
treaties  of  peace  or  alliance,  the  regulation  of  commerce, 
or  declaration  of  war,  came  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Con- 
gress. They  recognized  Him  who  holds  in  his  hands  the 
destinies  of  nations.  They  issued  a  proclamation  for  a 
day  of  solemn  fasting  and  prayer. 

Congress  now  assumed  the  authority  of  the  central 
power  of  the  nation.  They  forbade  persons,  under  any 
circumstances,  to  furnish  provisions  to  the  British  navy  or 
troops ;  took  measures  to  enlist  an  army  and  to  build 
fortifications,  and  to  procure  arms  and  ammunition.  To 
defray  expenses,  they  issued  "  Bills  of  Credit,"  amount- 
ing to  two  millions  of  dollars,  for  whose  redemption  they 
pledged  the  faith  of  the  "  United  Colonies."  In  accord- 
ance with  the  request  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massa- 
chusetts, they  adopted  the  volunteers  in  the  camp  before 
Boston,  as  the  continental  army.  It  remained  to  appoint 
a  Commander-in-chief.  On  this  subject  there  were  diver- 


WASHINGTON    CHOSEN   COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.  325 

sities  of  opinion.     Some  thought  a  New  England  army  CHAP. 

would  prefer  a  New  England  commander  ;  others  strove  \ 

to  appoint  a  commander  acceptable  to  all  sections  of  the  1775. 
country.  The  members  of  Congress  acknowledged  the 
military  talents  of  Washington,  and  appreciated  his  lib- 
eral views  as  a  statesman.  As  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  military  affairs,  he  had  suggested  the  majority  of  the 
rules  for  the  army,  and  of  the  measures  for  defence.  At 
this  time  came  intimations  in  a  private  letter  from  Dr. 
Warren  to  Samuel  Adams,  that  many  leading  men  in 
Massachusetts  desired  his  appointment  as  commander-in- 
chief. 

Patrick  Henry,  when  asked,  on  his  return  home  from 
the  first  Congress,  who  of  the  members  was  the  greatest 
man,  had  replied,  "  If  you  speak  of  eloquence,  Mr.  Kut- 
ledge,  of  South  Carolina,  is,  by  far,  the  greatest  orator  ; 
but  if  you  speak  of  solid  information  and  sound  judgment, 
Colonel  Washington  is  unquestionably  the  greatest  man 
on  that  floor." 

John  Adams  took  occasion  to  point  out  what,  under 
the  present  circumstances,  should  be  the  qualifications  of 
a  commander-in-chief,  and  closed  by  remarking,  that  they 
knew  a  man  who  had  these  qualifications — "  a  member  of 
this  house  from  Virginia."  He  alluded  to  Washington. 
A  few  days  after,  the  army  was  regularly  adopted,  and 
the  salary  of  the  commander-in-chief  fixed  at  five  hundred 
dollars  a  month.  That  arranged,  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Mary- 
land, nominated  Washington  for  the  office.  The  election 
was  by  ballot,  and  he  was  unanimously  chosen.  The  next  June 
day  the  president  of  Congress  formally  announced  to  him  15> 
his  election.  Washington  rose  in  his  seat  and  briefly  ex- 
pressed his  gratitude  for  the  unexpected  honor,  and  his 
devotion  to  the  cause.  Then  he  added,  "  I  beg  it  may 
be  remembered  by  every  gentleman  in  this  room,  thai?'  I 
this  day  declare,  with  the  utmost  sincerity,  I  do  not 

' 


326  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAR   think   myself  equal  to    the    command  I    am  ^honored 

with."     Kefusing  any  pay,  he  continued,  "  I  will  keep  an 

1V75.  exact  account  of  my  expenses.  Those,  I  doubt  not, 
they  will  discharge,  and  that  is  all  I  desire."  Con- 
gress resolved  "  to  maintain  and  assist,  and  adhere  to 
him  with  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  the  defence  of 
American  liberty." 


' 


' 


CHAPTEK    XXVIII. 

•i»  * 

THE    WAR    OF    THE    REVOLUTION 

Battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  —  Death  of  Warren.  —  Washington  on  his  way  to  join 
the  Army.  —  Generals  Charles  Lee  and  Schuyler.  —  State  of  Affairs  in 
New  York.  —  Sir  William  Johnson.  —  The  Condition  of  the  Army.  —  Na- 
thaniel Greene.  —  Morgan  and  his  Riflemen.  —  Wants  of  the  Army.  — 
Difficulties  on  Lake  Champlain.  —  Expedition  against  Canada.  —  Richard 
Montgomery.  —  Allen's  rash  Adventure.  —  Montreal  captured.  —  Arnold's 
toilsome  March  to  Quebec.  —  That  Place  besieged.  —  Failure  to  storm 
the  Town.  —  Death  of  Montgomery.  —  Arnold  in  his  Icy-Fortress. 

Ik 

FOR  two  months  the  armies  in  and  around  Boston  had 
watched  each  other.     General  Gage,  in  the  mean  time,  xxvrn 
had  received  large  reinforcements.     These   were  led  by 
three  commanders  of  reputation  :  Generals  Howe,  Bur- 


goyne,  and  Henry  Clinton.  We  may  judge  of  the  sur-  25." 
prise  of  these  generals  to  find  the  king's  regulars  "  hemmed 
in  by  what  they  termed  a  rustic  rout,  with  calico  frocks 
and  fowling-pieces."  "  What  !  "  exclaimed  Burgoyne, 
"  ten  thousand  peasants  keep  five  thousand  king's  troops 
shut  up  !  Well,  let  us  get  in,  and  we'll  soon  find  elbow- 
room."  This  vain  boast  was  followed  by  no  decided  move- 
ment. Gage  merely  sent  ribrth  a  proclamation,  declared 
the  province  under  martial  law,  and  offered  pardon  to  all 
the  rebels  who  should  return  to  their  allegiance,  except 
Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock.  These  "  rebels  "  were 
placed  beyond  the  pale  of  the  king's  mercy. 

The  patriot  soldiers,  numbering  about  fifteen  thou- 
sand, had  come  from  their  various  towns,  in  independent 
companies,  under  their  own  leaders  ;  their  friends  in  their 


328  HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

* 

CHAP,  respective   towns   supplied   them   with   provisions.     The 

!  Massachusetts  troops  were  under  General  Ward  ;  John 

1TT5.  Stark  led  the  New  Hampshire  volunteers  ;  Putnam  com- 
manded those  from  Connecticut,  and  Nathaniel  Greene 
the  regiment  from  Ehode  Island.  The  artillery,  consisting 
of  nine  pieces,  was  under  the  control  of  the  venerable 
Colonel  Gridley.  The  great  majority  of  the  soldiers  were 
clad  in  their  homespun  working  clothes  ;  some  had  rifles 
and  some  had  fowling-pieces.  The  British  greatly  exas- 
perated them  by  taunts  and  acts  expressive  of  contempt. 
Opposed  to  the  motley  group  of  patriot  soldiers,  was  a  well- 
disciplined  army  of  ten  thousand  men,  under  experienced 
commanders. 

It  was  rumored  that  Gage  intended  to  seize  and 
fortify  Bunker's  Hill  and  Dorchester  Heights — the  one 
lying  north  and  the  other  south  of  the  town.  In  order  to 
prevent  this,  some  of  the  patriots  proposed  that  they 
should  take  possession  of  the  hill  themselves.  The  more 
cautious  were  opposed  to  the  enterprise,  as  extremely 
hazardous  ]  it  might  provoke  a  general  action,  and  they 
were  deficient  in  ammunition  and  guns.  But  the  fearless 
Putnam  felt  confident,  with  proper  intrenchments,  the 
patriots  could  not  fail  of  success.  "  The  Americans," 
said  he,  "  are  never  afraid  of  their  heads,  they  only  think 
of  their  legs  ;  shelter  them,  and  they  will  fight  forever." 
It  was  reported  that  the  enemy  intended  to  seize  Bunker 
Hill  on  the  night  of  the  eighteenth  of  June,  and  therefore 
jun  not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost.  On  the  evening  of  Friday 
16.  the  sixteenth,  a  company  of  about  twelve  hundred  men, 
•  with  their  arms,  and  provisions  for  twenty-four  hours,  as- 
sembled on  the  common  at  Cambridge.  Yery  few  of  them 
knew  where  they  were  going,  but  all  knew  that  it  was 
into  danger.  Prayer  was  offered  by  President  Langdon, 
of  Harvard  College.  About  nine  o'clock  they  commenced 
their  march,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  William 
Prescott,  a  veteran  of  the  French  war  ;  one  in  whom  the 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  ^        329 

soldiers  had  implicit  confidence.     Charlestown  Neck  was  £§£?; 

strongly  guarded,  but  they  passed  over  it  in  safety,  and  ' 

were  soon  on  the  ground.  Bunker  Hill  was  designated  in  1775. 
the  orders,  but  Breed's  Hill,  as  it  had  a  better  command 
of  the  harbor,  was  fortified  instead.  The  ground  was 
speedily  marked  out,  and  about  midnight  the  men  com- 
menced their  labors.  Early  daylight  revealed  to  the  aston- 
ished eyes  of  the  British  sailors  in  the  harbor  the  strong 
redoubt  that  had  sprung  up  so  suddenly  on  the  hill-top, 
and  the  Americans  still  busy  at  their  work.  Without 
waiting  for  orders,  the  sloop-of-war  Lively  opened  her 
guns  upon  them  ;  a  floating  battery  and  other  ships  did 
the  same.  The  firing  roused  the  people  of  Boston.  Gage, 
through  his  spy-glass,  noticed  Prescott,  who  was  on  the 
parapet  inspecting  the  works.  "  Who  is  that  officer  in 
command,"  he  asked  ;  "  will  he  fight  ?  "  "  He  is  an  old 
soldier,  and  will  fight  to  the  last  drop  of  his  blood,"  replied 
one  who  knew  Prescott  well.  "  The  works  must  be  car- 
ried," remarked  Gage.  An  hour  later  the  plan  of  attack 
was  decided  upon  by  a  council  of  war. 

From  the  heights  the  Americans  saw  and  heard  the 
bustle  of  preparation.  Kepeated  messages  were  sent  to 
General  Ward  for  the  promised  reinforcements.  Putnam 
hurried  to  Cambridge  to  urge  the  demand  in  person. 
Ward  hesitated  lest  he  should  weaken  the  main  division. 
It  was  eleven  o'clock  before  Stark  and  Keed,  with  their 
regiments,  were  ordered  to  the  relief  of  Prescott,  and  the 
wearied  soldiers,  who  had  been  laboring  all  night  at  the 
redoubt. 

About  noon,  twenty-eight  barges  filled  with  soldiers, 
under  the  command  of  Generals  Howe  and  Pigott,  left 
Boston.  The  ships  kept  up  an  incessant  cannonade  to 
cover  their  landing.  General  Howe  discovered  that  the 
works  were  stronger  than  he  anticipated,  and  he  sent  to 
General  Gage  for  reinforcements  ;  his  men,  while  waiting, 
were  regaled  with  refreshments  and  "  grog."  Meantime 


330  HISTOKY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


the  Americans  strengthened  their  works,  and  formed  a 
rustic  breastwork  ;  to  do  this,  they  pulled  up  a  post-and- 
1T75.  rail  fence,  placed  it  behind  a  stone  fence,  and  filled  the 
space  between  with  new-mown  grass.  This  extended 
down  the  side  of  the  hill  north  of  the  redoubt  to  a  swamp. 

Now  they  were  cheered  by  the  sight  of  Stark,  who  ap- 
peared with  five  hundred  men.  As  he  marched  leisurely 
along,  some  one  suggested  a  rapid  movement.  The  vet- 
eran replied,  "  One  fresh  man  in  action  is  worth  ten  tired 
ones  ;  "  and  ne  moved  quietly  on.  A  part  of  his  force 
halted  with  Putnam  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  a  part  joined 
Knowlton  behind  the  fence  breastwork.  About  two 
o'clock,  Dr.  Warren,  who  had  recently  been  appointed 
major-general,  but  had  not  received  his  commission,  ar- 
rived. He  came,  as  did  Pomeroy,  to  serve  in  the  ranks. 
When  Putnam  pointed  him  to  the  redoubt,  and  said, 
"  There  you  will  be  under  cover/'  "  Don't  think/'  replied 
Warren,  "  that  I  seek  a  place  of  safety  —  where  will  the 
attack  be  the  hottest  ?  "  Still  pointing  to  the  same  spot 
Putnam  answered  :  "  That  is  the  enemy's  object  ;  if  that 
can  be  maintained  the  day  is  ours."  When  Warren  en- 
tered the  redoubt,  the  soldiers  received  him  with  hearty 
cheers.  Prescott  offered  him  the  command,  which  he 
gracefully  declined,  saying  :  "I  shall  be  happy  to  learn 
from  a  soldier  of  your  experience." 

The  day  was  clear  and  bright  :  the  British,  in  their 
brilliant  uniforms,  presented  a  fine  appearance.  Thou- 
sands watched  every  movement  from  the  house-tops  in 
Boston  and  from  the  neighboring  hills.  Fathers,  husbands, 
sons,  and  brothers  were  to  meet  the  enemy,  for  the  first 
time,  in  a  regular  battle.  The  expedition  had  commenced 
with  prayer  on  Cambridge  green,  and  now  minister  Mc- 
Clintock,  of  New  Hampshire,  was  passing  among  the  men 
praying  and  exhorting  them  to  stand  firm. 

About  half-past  two  o'clock,  the  British,  confident  of 
an  easy  victory,  advanced  ;  one  division,  under  General 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HILL.  331 

Pigott,  marched  up  the  hill  to  storm  the  redoubt  in  front, 
while  the  other,  under  General  Howe,  advanced  against  the 
fence  breastwork,  in  order  to  gain  the  rear  and  cut  off  the  1775. 
retreat.  The  redoubt  was  commanded  by  Prescott.  Stark, 
Knowlton,  and  Reed,  with  some  of  the  New  Hampshire 
and  Connecticut  men,  were  at  the  fence.  As  he  saw  the 
enemy  advancing,  Prescott,  with  his  usual  presence  of 
mind,  passed  among  his  men  and  encouraged  them.  "  The 
redcoats,"  said  he,  "  will  never  reach  the  redoubt,  if  you 
will  but  withhold  your  fire  till  I  give  the  order,  and  be 
careful  not  to  shoot  over  their  heads."  The  impetuous 
Putnam,  who  seems  to  have  had  no  special  command,  was 
everywhere.  "  Wait  till  you  see  the  whites  of  their  eyes, 
aim  at  their  waistbands,  pick  off  the  handsome  coats, 
steady  my  lads,"  were  his  directions  as  he  rode  along  the 
lines.  "  Wait  for  orders  and  fire  low,"  was  the  policy 
that  controlled  the  movements  on  Bunker  Hill. 

The  British,  as  they  advanced,  kept  up  an  incessant 
discharge  of  musketry.  Not  a  sound  issued  from  the 
Americans.  When  Pigott's  division  came  within  forty 
paces,  those  in  the  redoubt  levelled  their  guns  for  a  mo- 
ment, then  Prescott  gave  the  word  :  "  Fire  ! "  Whole 
ranks  were  cut  down.  The  enemy  fell  back,  but  urged  on 
by  their  officers,  again  advanced.  The  Americans  allowed 
them  to  come  nearer  than  before,  but  received  them  more 
warmly.  The  carnage  was  dreadful ;  Pigott  himself  or- 
dered a  retreat.  At  the  same  moment  Howe's  division 
was  also  retreating.  The  brave  band  who  guarded  the 
fence,  had  allowed  him  to  advance  within  thirty  paces, 
then  had  poured  in  their  reserved  fire  with  deadly  effect. 
Both  divisions  retired  down  the  hill  to  the  shore.  Gage 
had  threatened  that  he  would  burn  the  town  of  Charles- 
town  if  the  Americans  should  occupy  the  heights.  The 
threat  was  now  carried  into  execution,  by  bombs  thrown 
from  the  ships  and  Copp's  Hill.  The  conflagration  added 
new  horrors  to  the  scene. 


« 


332  HISTOKY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

The  British  resolved  upon  a  second  attack.  This 
proved  a  counterpart  of  the  first.  By  volleys  discharged 
1775.  at  the  right  moment,  and  with  unerring  aim,  their  whole 
force  was  driven  back.  Their  officers  labored  to  check 
them,  even  urged  them  on  with  their  swords,  but  in  vain ; 
they  retreated  to  the  shore.  "  If  we  drive  them  back  once 
more,"  exclaimed  Prescott,  "they  cannot  rally  again." 
"  We  are  ready  for  the  redcoats  again,"  was  the  response 
from  the  redoubt. 

General  Clinton  watched  the  movements  from  Copp's 
Hill.  He  witnessed  the  repulse  of  the  "  king's  regulars  " 
with  astonishment ;  he  hastened  over  as  a  volunteer  with 
reinforcements.  Some  officers  were  opposed  to  another 
attack  ;  they  thought  it  little  short  of  butchery  to  lead 
men  in  the  face  of  such  sharp-shooting.  Now  they  learned 
that  the  ammunition  of  the  Americans  was  nearly  ex- 
hausted. They  resolved  to  carry  the  redoubt  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet.  The  attack  was  to  be  specially  directed 
against  an  open  space  which  they  had  noticed  between 
the  breastwork  and  the  fortified  fence.  The  Americans 
used  what  little  powder  they  had  with  great  effect ;  they 
could  pour  in  but  a  single  volley  upon  the  enemy  ;  but 
by  this  a  number  of  British  officers  were  slain.  The  Brit- 
ish, however,  advanced  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  assailed 
the  redoubt  on  three  sides.  The  first  who  appeared  on 
the  parapet,  as  he  cried  out,  "  The  day  is  ours,"  was  shot 
down.  Now  followed  a  desperate  encounter  ;  those  Amer- 
icans who  had  not  bayonets  fought  with  stones  and  the 
butts  of  their  muskets.  It  was  impossible  to  maintain  the 
ground  ;  Prescott  gave  the  word,  and  they  commenced  an 
orderly  retreat.  The  aged  Pomeroy  clubbed  his  musket 
and  retreated  with  his  face  to  the  enemy.  Stark,  Knowl- 
ton,  and  Keed,  kept  their  position  at  the  fence  till  their 
companions  had  left  the  redoubt  and  passed  down  the 
hill,  and  thus  prevented  the  enemy  from  cutting  off  the 
retreat ;  then  they  slowly  retired. 


CHARLES   LEE — PHILIP    SCHUYLEE.  333 

About  three  thousand  British  were  engaged  in  this  CHAP. 

battle,  and  about  fifteen  hundred  Americans.    The  British  \ 

lost  more  than  one  thousand  men,  an  unusual  proportion  1775. 
of  whom  were  officers,  among  whom  was  Major  Pit  cairn, 
of  Lexington  memory  ;  while  the  Americans  lost  but  four 
hundred  and  fifty,  but  among  these  was  Dr.  Warren.  He 
was  one  of  the  last  to  leave  the  redoubt  ;  he  had  scarcely 
passed  beyond  it  when  he  fell.  On  the  morning  of  that 
day  he  had  expressed  himself  willing,  if  necessary,  to  die 
for  his  country. — That  country  has  embalmed  his  name  as 
one  of  the  bravest  and  noblest  of  her  sons. 

The  raw  militia  had  met  the  British  "  regulars,"  and 
had  proved  themselves  their  equals  ;  they  left  the  field 
only  when  destitute  of  ammunition. 

The  British  ministry  was  not  satisfied  with  this  vic- 
tory, nor  were  the  Americans  discouraged  by  this  defeat. 
When  the  news  of  the  battle  reached  England,  General 
Gage  was  at  once  recalled.  When  Washington  learned 
of  it  from  the  courier  who  was  hastening  to  Congress  with 
the  news,  he  exclaimed  :  "  The  liberties  of  the  country 
are  safe  ! " 

This  famous  battle  took  place  on  the  seventeenth  of 
June  ;  on  the  twenty-first  Washington,  accompanied  by 
Generals  Lee  and  Schuyler,  left  Philadelphia  to  join  the 
army  as  Commander-in-chief.  General  Charles  Lee  was 
an  Englishman  by  birth  ;  a  soldier  by  profession,  he  had 
been  engaged  in  campaigns  in  various  parts  of  Europe, 
and  in  the  French  war.  Frank  in  disposition,  but  sar- 
castic in  manner,  and  evidently  soured  by  disappointment, 
he  had  resigned  the  British  service,  and  for  some  reason 
indulged  in  feelings  of  bitter  animosity  to  the  English 
name.  His  connection  with  their  cause  was  counted  of 
great  consequence  by  the  Americans. 

General  Philip  Schuyler  was  a  native  of  New  York, 
of  Dutch  descent.  As  a  man  of  wealth,  position,  educa- 
tion, and  well-known  integrity,  he  had  great  influence  in 


* 


* 

* 

334  HISTOEY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


xxviii  ^a*  Prov^nce-  Be  nad  some  experience,  also,  in  military 
-  affairs  ;  during  the  French  war,  when  a  youth  of  two  and 
1775.  twenty,  he  campaigned  with  Sir  William  Johnson  and  his 
Mohawks.  Though  in  his  native  province  the  rich  and 
influential  were  generally  loyalists,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  troubles  Schuyler  ardently  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
colonists.  He  was  versed  in  civil  affairs,  having  been  a 
member  of  the  New  York  General  Assembly,  and  recently 
a  delegate  to  Congress,  where  his  practical  good  sense  had 
attracted  attention.  At  this  time,  danger  was  appre- 
hended from  the  Mohawks,  who  lived  in  the  northern  and 
central  parts  of  New  York.  It  was  feared  that,  influenced 
by  the  Johnson  family,  they  would  rally  against  the  colo- 
nists. Sir  William  Johnson,  of  whom  we  have  spoken, 
the  ancestor  of  this  family,  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  a 
man  of  vigorous  mind  but  of  coarse  associations  ;  he  had 
acquired  great  influence  over  the  Indians  by  adopting 
their  customs,  had  married  an  Indian  wife,  sister  of  Brandt, 
the  chief,  afterward  so  famous.  For  nearly  thirty  years 
he  was  agent  for  the  Five  Nations  ;  he  became  rich  by 
traffic,  and  lived  in  his  castle  on  the  Mohawk  river,  in 
baronial  style,  with  Scotch  Highlanders  as  tenants.  Sir 
William  was  dead,  but  his  son  and  heir,  John  Johnson, 
and  his  son-in-law,  Guy  Johnson,  were  suspected  of  tam- 
pering with  the  Mohawks.  No  one  knew  the  state  of 
affairs  in  New  York  better  than  Schuyler  ;  he  was  ac- 
quainted with  the  tory  aristocracy  ;  he  understood  the 
Johnsons,  and  to  him  Washington  intrusted  the  charge 
of  that  province. 

As  a  singular  incident  it  may  be  noted,  that  as  Wash- 
ington approached  New  York  by  way  of  New  Jersey,  the 
ship  on  board  of  which  was  the  royalist  governor  Tryon, 
who  was  just  returning  from  England,  came  into  the  har- 
bor. The  committee  appointed  to  do  the  honors  was 
somewhat  perplexed.  Fortunately  their  principles  were 
not  tested  :  these  two  men,  the  one  the  representative  of 


CONDITION    OF    THE   ARMY. 


335 


the  Continental  Congress,  the  other  of  the  king,  did  not 
reach  the  city  at  the  same  time.    The  escort  that  received 
Washington,  were  at  leisure,  a  few  hours  later,  to  render    1775. 
to  Governor  Tryon  the  same  honor. 

The  Commander-in-chief  was  met  at  Springfield  by 
the  committee  of  the  Massachusetts  Provincial  Congress, 
and  escorted  to  the  camp.  The  greatest  enthusiasm  pre- 
vailed ;  the  soldiers  everywhere  greeted  him  with  hearty 
cheers.  Such  a  welcome,  while  it  gratified  his  feelings, 
was  calculated  to  increase  his  sense  of  responsibility.  A 
great  work  was  before  him — a  work  not  yet  begun  ;  he 
was  to  bring  order  out  of  confusion  ;  to  lead  on  the  cause 
of  freedom  to  a  successful  issue.  In  his  letters  written 
about  this  time,  he  expresses  a  calm  trust  in  a  Divine 
Providence,  that  wisely  orders  all  things. 

A  personal  survey  of  the  army  revealed  more  perfectly 
the  difficulties  to  be  overcome.  It  numbered  about  four- 
teen thousand  men  ;  to  be  effective,  it  must  be  increased 
to  twenty  or  thirty  thousand.  The  troops  were  unorgan- 
ized and  undisciplined,  without  uniforms,  poorly  clad,  and 
imperfectly  armed.  To  discipline  these  volunteers  would 
be  no  easy  task  ;  they  could  not  be  subjected  to  strict 
military  rule.  Even  among  this  noble  band  of  patriot 
officers,  were  jealousies  to  be  soothed,  and  prejudices  to 
be  regarded.  Some  felt  that  they  had  been  overlooked  or 
underrated  in  the  appointments  made  by  Congress. 

A  council  of  war  resolved  to  maintain  the  present  line 
of  works,  to  capture  the  British,  or  drive  them  out  of 
Boston.  Washington  chose  for  his  head-quarters  a  cen- 
tral position  at  Cambridge  ;  here  were  stationed  Major- 
general  Putnam  and  Brigadier-general  Heath.  General 
Artemas  Ward  was  stationed  with  the  right  wing  at  Kox- 
bury,  and  General  Charles  Lee  commanded  the  left  on 
Prospect  Hill.  Under  Lee  were  the  Brigadier-generals 
Greene  and  Sullivan,  and  under  Ward  the  Generals 


336  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

xrrai    ^Pencer  anc^  Thomas.     Of  this  number,  Greene  merits 

special  notice.     His  father  a  farmer,  miller,  and  anchor 

1775.  smith,  as  well  as  occasionally  a  Quaker  preacher,  endeavored 
to  train  his  son  in  his  own  faith.  The  son's  tastes  were 
decidedly  military.  Of  a  genial  disposition,  he  was  fond 
of  social  amusements,  but  never  at  the  expense  of  things 
more  important.  He  cultivated  his  mind  by  reading  the 
best  English  authors  of  the  time  on  science  and  history  ; 
to  do  this  he  snatched  the  moments  from  daily  toil.  Indus- 
trious and  strictly  temperate,  his  perceptions  were  clear, 
and  his  love  of  order  almost  a  passion.  With  zest  he  read 
books 'on  military  tactics,  and  before  he  had  laid  aside  the 
Quaker  costume,  he  took  lessons  in  the  science  of  military 
drill,  by  watching  the  exercises  and  manoeuvres  of  the 
British  troops  on  parade  on  Boston  Common.  Their  order 
and  precision  had  a  charm  for  the  embryo  general.  None 
took  a  deeper  interest  than  he  in  the  questions  that  agi- 
tated the  country,  and  he  was  more  than  once  chosen  by 
the  people  to  represent  them  in  the  Colonial  Legislature. 
The  army  was  now  joined  by  some  companies  of  rifle- 
men, mostly  Scotch  and  Irish ;  backwoodsmen  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Virginia,  and  Maryland,  enlisted  by  orders  of 
Congress.  They  had  marched  six  hundred  miles  in  twenty 
days.*  If  their  peculiar  dress,  the  hunting-shirt,  and  their 
motto,  "  Liberty  or  Death/'  worn  on  their  head-band, 
their  robust  appearance,  their  stature,  scarcely  one  of 
them  being  less  than  six  feet,  excited  admiration,  much 
more  did  their  feats  of  sharp-shooting.  "  When  advanc- 
ing at  a  quick  step,"  it  was  said,  "  they  could  hit  a  mark 
of  seven  inches  diameter  at  a  distance  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards."  Their  leader,  Daniel  Morgan,  was  a  native 
of  New  Jersey,  though  brought  up  on  the  frontiers  of 
Virginia.  When  a  youth,  his  education  had  been  neglect- 
ed ;  he  could  scarcely  read  or  write  ;  unpolished  in  his 
manners,  generous  in  his  impulses,  honorable  in  his  own 
feelings,  he  instinctively  scorned  meanness  or  duplicity  in 


THE   INFORMATION    LAID    BEFORE    CONGRESS.  337 

others.  In  his  twentieth  year,  as  a  wagoner,  he  took  his 
first  lessons  in  warfare  in  Braddock's  unfortunate  cam- 
paign.  His  character  adapted  itself  to  emergencies.  When  1775. 
left  to  act  in  responsible  situations,  his  good  sense  was 
never  at  fault ;  wherever  placed,  he  performed  well  his 
part. 

As  soon  as  he  obtained  the  requisite  information, 
Washington  laid  before  Congress  the  state  of  the  army, 
with  suggestions  as  to  the  best  means  to  furnish  it  with 
provisions,  munitions,  and  men.  He  also  suggested  that 
diversities  of  uniform  had  a  tendency  to  encourage  sec- 
tional feelings,  and  recommended  Congress  to  provide,  at 
least  ten  thousand  hunting-shirts,  adding,  "  I  know  noth- 
ing in  a  speculative  view  more  trivial,  yet  which,  if  put 
in  practice,  would  have  a  happier  tendency  to  unite  the 
men,  and  abolish  those  provincial  distinctions  that  lead  to 
jealousy  and  dissatisfaction."  This  was  the  origin  of  the 
peculiar  uniform  of  American  soldiers.  A  few  days  after 
this  report  was  sent  to  Congress,  it  was  discovered  that, 
by  mistake,  a  false  return  of  the  powder  in  the  camp  had 
been  made — the  supply  was  nearly  exhausted.  This  dis- 
covery crippled  every  movement,  and  left  the  Americans 
at  the  mercy  of  the  enemy,  should  they  be  attacked.  Their 
only  safety  lay  in  silence  and  inaction.  Messengers  were 
hurried  in  every  direction  to  collect  and  send  to  the  camp 
all  the  powder  that  could  be  obtained.  In  about  a. fort- 
night they  procured  a  small  supply. 

We  now  turn  to  affairs  in  New  York,  where,  it  will  be 
remembered,  Schuyler  had  command.  After  their  brave 
exploits  on  Lake  Champlain,  Arnold  and  Allen  both  claim- 
ed authority  over  the  captured  forts — the  former  referred 
to  Massachusetts,  the  latter  to  Connecticut,  to  confirm 
their  respective  claims.  As  these  forts  belonged  to  New 
York,  Allen  wrote  to  the  Congress  of  that  province  for 
supplies  of  men  and  money  to  defend  them.  But  the 
whole  matter  was,  at  length,  referred  to  the  Continental 
22 


338  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


Congress,  which  decided  that  New  York  should  have  the 
-  charge  of  the  forts,  and  authorized  it  to  call  upon  New 
1775.  England  for  aid  in  their  defence.  The  call  was  made  upon 
Connecticut,  in  answer  to  which  Colonel  Hinman,  with  a 
thousand  men,  was  sent  to  join  Arnold.  Allen's  Green 
Mountain  Boys  were  by  this  time  disbanded,  as  their  term 
of  enlistment  had  expired.  These  war  spirits,  Arnold  and 
Allen,  had  urged  upon  the  Continental  Congress  to  fur- 
nish them  means  to  invade  Canada.  Allen,  in  company 
with  Seth  Warner,  went  in  person  to  that  body  for  au- 
thority to  raise  a  new  regiment.  It  was  granted,  and  the 
New  York  Congress  was  recommended  to  receive  this 
regiment  of  their  ancient  enemies  into  the  regular  army. 
They  were  to  choose  their  own  leader.  For  some  reason 
Warner  was  chosen,  and  Allen  entirely  neglected  ;  but 
not  to  be  baffled  when  a  fight  was  on  hand,  he  joined  the 
army  as  a  volunteer.  Arnold  claimed  the  entire  authority 
at  Ticonderoga,  after  the  departure  of  Allen,  and  difficul- 
ties arose  between  him  and  Hinman.  A  committee  sent 
from  the  Congress  of  Massachusetts  to  inquire  into  the 
matter,  decided  that  the  command  belonged  to  Hinman. 
Arnold  swore  he  would  not  be  second,  disbanded  his  men, 
threw  up  his  commission,  and  hurried  to  Cambridge. 

Congress  was,  at  first,  opposed  to  the  invasion  of  Can- 
ada, and  even  thought  of  dismantling  the  forts  on  Lake 
Champlain.  Kecent  intelligence  that  the  authorities  of 
that  province  were  making  preparations  to  recapture  the 
forts  and  to  regain  the  command  of  the  lake,  induced 
them  to  determine  upon  its  invasion  in  self-defence. 
Schuyler  learned  that  seven  hundred  of  the  king's  troops 
were  in  Canada  ;  that  Guy  Johnson,  with  three  hundred 
tenants  and  Indians,  was  at  Montreal  ;  that  St.  John's 
was  fortified,  and  war-vessels  were  building  there,  and  al- 
most ready  to  pass  by  the  Sorel  into  the  lake.  Yet  he 
was  encouraged  by  rumors  that  some  of  the  inhabitants 
were  disaffected,  and  might  be  induced  to  join  against  the 


INVASION    OF    CANADA — RICHARD   MONTGOMERY.  339 

mother  country  ;  if  so,  the  British  would  be  deprived  of  a 
valuable  recruiting  station.  Two  expeditions  against 
Canada  were  determined  upon,  one  by  way  of  Lake  Cham-  1775. 
plain,  the  other  by  the  rivers  Kennebec  and  Chaudiere. 
The  former  under  Schuyler  ;  the  latter  was  intrusted  to 
Arnold,  who  was  in  the  camp  chafed  and  disappointed, 
but  ready  for  any  daring  enterprise  that  promised  dis- 
tinction. 

Operations  were  to  commence  by  way  of  the  lake, 
where  were  assembled  the  New  York  troops,  and  some 
from  New  England.  Schuyler  was  ably  seconded  by 
Brigadier-general  Kichard  Montgomery.  Montgomery  was 
a  native  of  Ireland  ;  had,  when  a  youth,  been  the  com- 
panion of  Wolfe  in  the  French  war.  He  resigned  the 
British  service,  and  remaining  in  America,  settled  in  New 
York,  where  he  married.  A  man  of  education  and  refine- 
ment, his  generous  sentiments  led  him  to  espouse  ardently 
the  cause  of  popular  rights. 

General  Schuyler  passed  from  Ticonderoga  down  the 
lake,  and  took  possession  of  the  Isle  aux  Noix,  in  the  Sorel 
river.  This  position  commanded  the  entrance  into  Lake 
Champlain.  He  then  made  an  attempt  on  St.  John's,  Sept. 
but  finding  it  more  strongly  garrisoned  than  had  been 
represented,  he  retired  to  the  Isle  aux  Noix,  with  the  in- 
tention of  fortifying  that  important  post,  but  severe  sick- 
ness compelled  him  to  return  to  Albany.  The  command 
devolved  upon  Montgomery.  Schuyler  was  soon  able  to 
send  him  supplies  and  ammunition,  and  also  reinforce- 
ments under  General  Wooster. 

Ethan  Allen,  as  usual,  without  orders,  went 'on  one  of 
his  rash  expeditions.     With  only  eighty-three  men,  he 
attempted  to  take  Montreal,  was  overpowered,  and  taken    Sept. 
prisoner  with  his  men.     He  himself  was  sent  in  irons  to     24' 
England,  to  be  tried  as  a  rebel.     Here  closed  the  connec- 
tion of  this  daring  leader  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys, 
with  the  war  of  the  Kevolution.     He  was  not  tried,  but 


340  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


xxvni   Iterated  >  *ken  returned  home,  but  from  some  dissatis- 

-  faction  took  no  further  part  in  the  struggle. 

1775.  Montgomery  sent  a  detachment  which  took  Fort 
Chambly,  a  few  miles  further  down  the  river,  thus  placing 
troops  between  St.  John's  and  Canada.  Sir  Guy  Carle- 
ton,  the  governor  of  that  province,  made  exertions,  but 
without  success,  to  raise  a  force  for  the  relief  of  St.  John's. 
But  when  on  his  way  he  was  repulsed  at  the  passage  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  by  Colonel  Seth  Warner  ;  another  party 
going  up  the  Sorel  on  the  same  errand  was  also  driven 
3  v*  back.  The  garrison  at  St.  John's  presently  surrendered, 
and  immediately  the  energetic  Montgomery  pushed  on  to 
Montreal,  which  submitted  at  the  first  summons,  while 
Carleton  with  a  few  followers  fled  down  the  river  to  Que- 
bec. This  was  a  very  seasonable  capture  for  the  Ameri- 
cans, as  it  supplied  them  with  woollen  clothes,  of  which 
necessaries  they  were  in  great  need. 

Montgomery  made  great  exertions  in  the  midst  of  dis- 
couragements, arising  from  insubordination,  desertions, 
and  the  lateness  of  the  season,  to  push  on  and  join  Arnold 

Sept.  before  Quebec.  Two  months  before  this  time,  that  leader 
had  left  the  camp  before  Boston  with  eleven  hundred  men, 
among  whom  were  three  companies  of  riflemen,  under 
Morgan,  to  pass  up  the  Kennebec,  and  thence  across  the 
wilderness  to  Quebec,  there  to  unite  with  the  force  from 
New  York.  Aaron  Burr,  then  a  youth  of  twenty,  accom- 
panied this  expedition  as  a  volunteer.  It  was  a  perilous 
undertaking.  The  journey  was  one  of  intense  suffering 
and  incessant  toil.  Six  weeks  they  spent  in  dragging 
their  boats  up  the  river,  and  carrying  the  baggage  around 
rapids  ;  they  cut  their  way  through  thickets  and  briars, 
forded  streams,  climbed  mountains,  breasted  storms,  and 
were  so  much  in  want  of  food  that  they  devoured  their 
dogs,  and  even  their  moccasins.  Their  number  was  re- 
duced to  about  six  hundred  effective  men  ;  one  entire  divi- 
sion had  returned  home  with  the  sick  and  disabled.  In  a 


QUEBEC    BESIEGED.  34] 

forlorn   condition   the  remainder   suddenly  appeared   at  CHAP. 

Point  Levi,  opposite  Quebec.     The  inhabitants  were  as-  

tonished  at  the  apparition,  and  could  Arnold  have  crossed    1775. 
immediately,  he  might  have  taken  the  town  ;  but  he  was      9 v' 
unable  to  do  so  for  want  of  boats.     In  a  few  days  came 
Carle  ton  from  Montreal ;  he  put  the  town  in  a  state  of 
defense,  and  increased  his  force  to  twelve  hundred  men, 
by  enlisting  traders,  sailors,  and  others. 

Although  two  armed  vessels  were  on  the  watch,  Ar- 
nold managed  to  cross  the  St.  Lawrence,  clambered  up 
the  Heights  of  Abraham,  by  the  same  rugged  path  that 
Wolfe  had  used,  and  boldly  challenged  the  garrison  to 
battle.  The  contest  was  declined.  It  was  useless  for  him 
to  attempt  to  besiege  the  town  without  cannon,  so  he 
moved  twenty  miles  up  the  river,  where  he  met  Mont- 
gomery. The  toilsome  march  through  the  wilderness 
nearly  stripped  Arnold's  men  of  their  clothes  ;  the  wool- 
lens obtained  at  Montreal  were  to  them  also  an  acceptable 
protection  against  the  rigors  of  a  Canada  winter. 

Their  united  force  amounted  to  only  nine  hundred 
men.  With  these,  Montgomery,  who  assumed  the  com- 
mand, advanced  to  Quebec.  The  flag  he  sent  to  demand 
a  surrender  was  fired  upon.  A  battery  must  be  built ; 
the  ordinary  material  was  not  at  hand,  but  ingenuity  sup- 
plied its  place.  Gabions  were  filled  with  snow  and  ice, 
over  which  water  was  poured,  and  a  Canada  winter  soon 
rendered  them  solid,  but  no  ingenuity  could  render  the 
ice  otherwise  than  brittle — every  shot  from  the  town  shat- 
tered it  in  pieces.  It  was  now  found  that  their  cannon 
were  too  small.  They  could  not  batter  the  walls,  and  it 
was  as  fruitless  to  attempt  to  scale  them.  Some  other 
plan  must  be  adopted. 

It  was  determined  to  make  a  sudden  attack  on  the 
lower  town.  Montgomery,  with  one  division,  was  to  ad- 
vance upon  the  south  side,  while  Arnold  was  to  make  an 
attempt  upon  the  north.  At  the  same  time,  feint  move- 


342  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xxvni   men*s  were  *°  be  ma(ie  against  the  upper  town,  and  signal 
-  rockets   fired  from   the   different   points  to  distract  and 

1775.  divert  the  attention  of  the  enemy.  On  the  thirty-first  of 
31  /  December  a  blinding  snow-storm  favored  their  enterprise. 
At  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  that  day  they  were  on 
the  march.  The  feint  that  was  to  cover  the  movement  of 
Montgomery  was  successful.  Undiscovered  he  descended 
from  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  passing  safely  around  Cape 
Diamond  to  the  defile  that  led  to  the  town.  The  pass3  at 
all  times  difficult,  was  now  obstructed  by  ice  and  drifting 
snow.  It  was  defended  by  barriers  guarded  by  Canadian 
militia.  Taken  by  surprise,  they  fled  from  the  picket. 
Montgomery  passed  the  first  barrier  unopposed.  As  he 
stepped  beyond  it,  sanguine  and  exultant  with  hope,  he 
exclaimed  :  "  Push  on,  my  brave  boys  ;  Quebec  is  ours  !  " 
Just  then,  a  single  gun  loaded  with  grape-shot  was  fired 
from  a  battery  ;  he  fell,  and  by  his  side  his  aids  and  many 
others,  who  had  answered  to  his  cheering  call.  The  sol- 
diers, disheartened  at  the  fall  of  their  brave  leader,  were 
willing  to  abandon  the  town,  under  the  lead  of  Quarter- 
master Campbell,  leaving  the  bodies  of  the  slain  Mont- 
gomery, Cheeseman,  and  MacPherson  where  they  fell. 

By  some  neglect,  no  feint  movement  was  made  to 
cover  the  march  of  Arnold.  He  was  harassed  by  a  flank- 
ing fire  as  he  pushed  on  to  the  entrance  of  the  town.  His 
leg  being  shattered  by  a  ball,  he  was  unable  to  lead  his 
men  against  the  battery.  Morgan  assumed  the  command, 
and  with  his  riflemen  stormed  it,  and  captured  the  men. 
At  daylight  he  reached  the  second  battery,  which  was  also 
carried ;  but  now  the  forces  of  the  British  were  concen- 
trated at  this  point.  Morgan's  party  made  a  brave  resist- 
ance, but  were  overpowered  by  numbers,  and  compelled 
to  surrender.  He  himself  was  the  last  to  submit.  When 
called  upon  by  the  British  soldiers  to  deliver  up  his  sword, 
he  refused,  planted  himself  against  a  wall,  and  defied  them 
to  take  it.  They  threatened  to  shoot  him ;  his  men  expos- 


MORGAN    AND    HIS    MEN   PRISONERS.  343 

tulated.    At  length  he  saw  a  man — a  priest  he  knew  him   CHAP. 

to  be  from  his  dress  ;  to  him  he  gave  it,  saying  :  "I  will  

give  my  sword  to  you,  but  not  a  scoundrel  of  those  cow-    1TT5. 
ards  shall  take  it  out  of  my  hands."     The  bravery  of 
Morgan  and  his  men  was  appreciated  by  Carleton ;  as 
prisoners,  they  were  treated  with  special  kindness. 

Arnold  now  retired  about  three  miles  up  the  river, 
and  there  in  a  camp  whose  ramparts  were  formed  of  frozen 
snow  and  of  ice,  he  blockaded  Quebec  through  the  winter. 
Here  we  leave  him  for  the  present. 

Montgomery  was  at  first  buried  at  Quebec.     When 
nearly  half  a  century  had  passed  away,  New  York  remem- 
bered her  adopted  son.    She  transferred  his  remains  to  her 
metropolis,  and  with  appropriate  honors  reinterred  them    1818. 
in  St.  Paul's  church-yard. 


+   • 

•         :        > 

:' 


CHAPTEE    XXIX. 

WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

Meeting  of  Congress ;  alarming  Evils  require  its  Attention. — British  Cruis- 
ers.— Portland  burned. — Efforts  to  defend  the  Coast. — Congress  acts 
with  Energy. — Parliament  resolves  to  crush  the  Rebels. — Henry  Knox. — 
Difficulties  in  the  Army. — Provincial  Prejudices. — Success  of  the  Priva- 
teers.—British  Theatricals.— The  Union  Flag.— Affairs  in  New  York.— 
Rivington's  Gazette.— Governor  Tryon. — General  Lee  in  the  City. — The 
Johnsons. — Dunmore's  Measures  in  Virginia ;  Norfolk  burned. — Defeat 
of  North  Carolina  Tories. — Lee  at  the  South. — Cannon  and  Powder  ob- 
tained.— Dorchester  Heights  fortified. — Boston  Evacuated. — Washing- 
ton in  New  York. — British  and  German  Troops  in  Canada. — Numerous 
Disasters.^The  Retreat  from  Canada.— Horatio  Gates.— A  British  Fleet 
before  Fort  Moultrie. — Gloomy  Prospects. 

CHAP.  WHEN  the  Continental  Congress  reassembled,  delegates 

1  from  Georgia  took  their  seats,  for  the  first  time,  and  the 

1775.    style  was  assumed  of  THE  THIRTEEN  UNITED  COLONIES. 
Sgpt*          During  the  session,  a  delegate  from  beyond  the  moun- 
Oct.     tains  presented  himself  as  the  representative  of  the  colony 
of  Transylvania,  the  germ  of  the  present  State  of  Ken- 
tucky, (settled  by  those   bold  pioneers,  Boone,  Harrod, 
and  Henderson),  but  the  delegate  of  the  fourteenth  colony 
was  rejected,  on  the  ground  that  Virginia  claimed  the 
territory. 

Alarming  evils  required  the  prompt  attention  of  Con- 
gress. The  army  was  almost  destitute  of  ammunition 
and  military  stores  ;  the  coast,  to  a  great  extent,  unpro- 
tected ;  British  cruisers  hovered  on  the  shores  of  New 
England  ;  demanded  of  the  inhabitants  supplies  ;  burned 


PORTLAND  BURNED — PLANS  OF  DEFENCE.          345 

and  pillaged  the  towns.     The  notorious  Captain  Wallace   CHAP. 

was  stationed  in  Narragansett  Bay  ;  Stonington  and  Bris-  ' 

tol  had  been  bombarded,  and  Newport  was  threatened  1TY5. 
with  destruction.  The  British  Admiral,  Graves,  it  was  ^  ' 
said,  had  issued  orders  to  burn  all  the  rebel  towns  from 
Halifax  to  Boston.  This  was  no  idle  rumor.  At  Fal- 
mouth,  now  Portland,  in  Maine,  the  destruction  began. 
This  patriotic  little  town  had,  some  time  before,  resolutely  18. 
repulsed  Lieutenant  Mowatt  of  the  British  navy.  One 
evening  he  appeared  with  several  vessels  in  the  harbor, 
prepared  to  mete  out  the  punishment  due  for  such  rebel- 
lion. He  informed  the  inhabitants  of  his  intention,  and 
allowed  them  two  hours  "  to  remove  the  human  species 
out  of  the  town."  A  further  respite  until  nine  o'clock 
next  morning  was  with  difficulty  obtained.  The  people 
removed  during  the  night ;  then,  by  means  of  bombs  and 
carcasses,  this  flourishing  village  of  five  hundred  houses 
was  laid  in  ashes.  The  other  towns  assumed  a  posture 
of  defence,  and  avoided  a  similar  ruin. 

The  colonies  separately  took  measures  to  defend  their 
coasts  against  such  attacks.  Already  Maryland,  Virginia, 
and  South  Carolina  had  appointed  Naval  Boards,  and 
equipped  armed  vessels.  The  British  ships  had  been 
driven  from  the  harbor  at  Charleston  ;  a  powder-ship  had 
been  captured  by  a  South  Carolina  vessel.  Washington 
had  sent  cruisers  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay,  to  intercept  supplies  intended  for  the 
enemy.  One  of  these,  the  schooner  Lee,  commanded  by 
Captain  Manly,  deserves  particular  mention.  She  did 
the  country  good  service.  Khode  Island,  Massachusetts, 
and  Connecticut,  now  equipped  a  few  small  vessels.  Al- 
though a  few  harbors  were  thus  defended,  the  force  that 
protected  the  coast  was  still  insufficient. 

Congress  applied  themselves  vigorously  to  remedy 
these  evils.  They  forwarded  some  of  the  powder  seized  by 


'  •  jfo, 


346  HISTOKY   OF   THE  UNITED  STATES. 


the  South  Carolinians  to  the  camp  ;  appointed  a  secret 
committee  to  import  it  from  the  West  Indies  ;  took  meas- 
1V75.  ures  to  establish  mills  for  its  manufacture,  and  founderies 

2gV*  for  the  making  of  cannon.  They  licensed  privateers,  and 
ordered  gun-boats  to  be  prepared  for  the  defence  of  the 
harbors  ;  appointed  a  Naval  Committee,  which  was  au- 
thorized to  build  thirteen  frigates  ;  but,  alas  !  want  of 
funds  interfered  sadly  with  the  accomplishment  of  these 
proposed  measures. 

Dec-  In  this  Naval  Committee  we  recognize  the  germ  of 
the  Navy  Department.  About  this  time  a  secret  com- 
mittee was  authorized  to  open  a  private  correspondence 
with  the  friends  of  the  cause  in  England,  Ireland,  and 
elsewhere  ;  this  grew  into  the  State  Department.  Thus 
was  the  Continental  Congress  gradually  laying  the  foun- 
dation of  the  present  government  of  the  United  States. 

Parliament,  in  the  mean  time,  took  measures  to  crush 
the  "  rebels  ;  "  enacted  laws  against  them,  cruel  in  the 
extreme  ;  gave  orders  to  treat  them  in  warfare  not  as 
equals,  but  as  criminals,  who  should  be  thankful  to  escape 
the  gallows.  The  ministry  proclaimed  all  ships  trading 
to  the  colonies  lawful  prizes  ;  and  the  crews  of  all  cap- 
tured colonial  trading  vessels  virtually  slaves  ;  these  were 
doomed  to  serve  in  the  royal  navy  as  marines.  Parlia- 
ment also  voted  to  increase  their  army  in  America  to 
forty  thousand  men  —  of  this  number  twenty-five  thousand 
Nov.  had  yet  to  be  raised.  They  could  not  be  obtained  in 
Great  Britain  ;  men  would  not  enlist.  Lord  Howe  had 
written  to  the  ministry  that  Catholic  Irish  soldiers  could 
not  be  trusted,  and  suggested  the  employment  of  German 
troops.  Negotiations  w%re  accordingly  commenced  with 
two  of  the  little  German  principalities,  Brunswick  and 
Hesse  Cassel  ;  and  the  English  monarch  hired  seventeen 
thousand  Germans,  or  Hessians,  to  aid  him  in  subduing 
the  descendants  of  Englishmen  in  America.  In  vain  did 


HENRY  KNOX COMMITTEE  OF  CONGRESS.         34*7 

the  best  and  most  humane  in  Parliament  oppose  these   CHAP. 

measures.     There  was  in  England  an  honorable  minority,  1 

who  felt  for  the  cause  of  the  colonists.  Burke  and  Barre  1775. 
stood  firm  ;  Conway  and  the  Duke  of  Grafton  resigned 
their  offices,  and  joined  the  opposition  ;  Lord  Effingham 
and  the  son  of  Pitt  threw  up  their  commissions  in  the 
army,  rather  than  take  part  in  the  unnatural  struggle. 
The  mercantile  interests  of  the  country,  and  especially 
the  Corporation  of  London,  were  opposed  to  the  measures 
of  Parliament.  Intelligence  of  them  aroused  the  Ameri- 
cans to  greater  exertions,  and  deepened  their  hostility  to 
the  mother  country. 

Since  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  the  armies  in  and 
around  Boston  had  been  inactive — the  British  from  choice, 
the  Americans  from  want  of  ammunition.  Washington 
was  anxious  to  be  ready,  when  the  bay  should  be  frozen 
to  pass  over  to  the  town  on  the  ice.  But  he  must  have 
powder  and  ordnance. 

Henry  Knox,  a  bookseller  of  Boston,  had  entered  with 
great  zeal  into  the  cause  of  his  country.  He  had  an  in- 
tuitive skill  in  the  use  of  artillery,  which  he  first  displayed 
on  Bunker  Hill,  and  afterward  in  planning  the  defences 
of  the  camp.  His  aptness  and  energy  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  Washington.  Knox  proposed  to  go  to  Ticonde- 
roga  and  Crown  Point,  and  bring  from  those  places  the 
cannon  and  powder  that  could  be  spared.  Washington  ap- 
proved the  suggestion,  wrote  to  Schuyler  at  Albany  to  give 
his  assistance,  and  to  Congress,  recommending  Knox  as  col- 
onel of  a  regiment  of  artillery.  Knox  immediately  set  out. 

Other  difficulties  surrounded  the  army.  The  soldiers 
had  enlisted  but  for  one  year,  their  terms  would  expire 
before  the  first  of  January.  In  anticipation  of  this,  a 
committee  of  the  Continental  Congress,  consisting  of  Doc- 
tor Franklin,  Colonel  Harrison,  of  Virginia,  and  Thomas 
Lynch,  of  Carolina,  met  at  Cambridge,  with  committees 


348  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  from  the  New  England  colonies,  to  reorganize  the  army, 

1  and  to  devise  means  to  increase  it  to  thirty-two  thousand. 

1775.  The  committees  were  in  favor  of  an  attack  upon  Bos- 
ton as  soon  as  practicable.  Their  plans  were  well  laid, 
but  how  could  they  be  carried  out  ?  The  soldiers  were 
unwilling  to  re-enlist  ;  the  zeal  of  the  patriot  army  had 
begun  to  flag  ;  winter  was  coming  on  ;  they  were  ill-fitted 
to  endure  its  hardships  ;  their  fuel  was  scanty  and  their 
clothing  poor  ;  their  families  needed  their  presence  ;  the 
attractions  of  home  presented  a  delightful  contrast  to  the 
privations  of  a  winter  campaign.  Their  patriotism  was 
not  extinct,  but  they  were  weary  and  discouraged.  Says 
Washington,  in  a  letter  :  "  The  desire  of  retiring  into  a 
chimney-corner  seized  the  troops  as  soon  as  their  terms 
expired." 

Those  who  were  willing  to  re-enlist,  would  do  so  only 
on  certain  conditions.  They  must  know  under  what  offi- 
cers they  were  to  be  placed.  Provincial  prejudices  had 
their  effect  ;  the  men  of  one  colony  hesitated  to  serve 
with  those  of  another,  or  under  officers  not  of  their  own 
choosing.  It  is  pleasing  to  record  one  instance  of  high- 
minded  patriotism — doubtless  there  were  many.  Colonel 
Asa  Whitcombe,  a  worthy  and  experienced  officer,  was 
not  reappointed  on  account  of  his  advanced  age.  His  men 
took  offence,  and  refused  to  re-enlist.  The  colonel  set 
them  an  example  by  enlisting  himself  as  a  private  soldier. 
A  younger  officer  immediately  resigned  the  command  of 
his  regiment  that  Whitcombe  might  be  appointed,  which 
was  done. 

On  the  first  of 'December,  some  days  before  their  terms 
expired,  a  portion  of  the  Connecticut  troops  began  to  re- 
turn home  ;  they  were  unwilling  even  to  remain  in  camp 
till  their  places  could  be  supplied.  Their  arms  were  re- 
tained at  an  assessed  value. 

In  the  midst  of  this  gloom,  the  privateers  did  good 
service.  The  camp  was  thrown  into  ecstasies  by  the 


*. 


DESECRATIONS — THE    UNION   FLAG.  349 

arrival  of  a  long  train  of  wagons  laden  with  military  stores.  CHAP. 

The  brave  Captain  Manly  had  captured  off  Cape  Ann  a  1 

brigantine  laden  with  guns;  mortars,  and  working  tools,  1775. 
designed  for  the  British  army.  Among  the  cannon  thus 
obtained  was  an  immense  mortar.  This  was  deemed  so 
great  a  prize,  that  in  the  joy  of  the  moment,  it  was  pro- 
posed to  give  it  a  name.  "  Old  Putnam  mounted  it, 
dashed  on  it  a  bottle  of  rum,  and  gave  it  the  name  of 
Congress." 

The  blockade  of  the  British  was  so  stringent,  that  they 
began  to  suffer  seriously  for  fuel  and  fresh  provisions  : 
they  could  obtain  none  from  the  land  side,  while  the  coast 
was  closely  watched.  Abundant  supplies  were  sent  from 
England,  but  these  were  often  wrecked  or  captured.  Some 
of  the  poorer  houses  were  taken  down  to  supply  fuel,  and 
many  of  the*  poorer  people  sent  out  of  the  town,  in  order 
to  lessen  the  demand  for  provisions. 

To  the  grief  of  the  patriot  inhabitants,  the  Old  South 
Church,  that  time-honored  and  sacred  edifice,  was  con- 
verted into  a  riding-school  for  Burgoyne's  light-horse,  and 
the  pastor's  library  used  to  kindle  fires.  In  retaliation, 
the  soldiers  converted  the  Episcopal  church  at  Cambridge 
into  barracks,  and  melted  the  leaden  pipes  of  the  organ 
into  bullets.  The  British  officers  beguiled  their  time  by 
getting  up  balls  and  theatricals.  Among  the  plays  per- 
formed was  one,  written  by  General  Burgoyne,  caricatur- 
ing the  American  army  and  its  officers. 

On  the  first  of  January  the  Union  Flag  was  unfurled,  1776. 
for  the  first  time,  over  the  camp  at  Cambridge.  It  was 
emblematic  of  the  state  of  the  country.  The  English 
cross  retained  in  one  corner,  intimated  a  still  existing 
relation  with  the  mother  country,  while  the  thirteen 
stripes  of  red  and  white  that  represented  the  thirteen 
colonies,  now  united  for  self-government  and  resistance  to 


350 


1776. 


10 


HISTOEY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

oppression,  were  broadly  significant  of  the  New  Kepublic 
that  was  to  grow  out  of  this  union. 

The  year  opened  drearily  for  the  patriots.  There  were 
less  than  ten  thousand  men  in  the  camp,  among  whom 
Tere  many  undisciplined  recruits,  and  many  without  arms, 
whe  people  were  impatient, — why  not  capture  or  drive 
the  enemy  out  of  Boston  ?  they  asked  on  all  sides.  The 
situation  of  Washington  was  painful  in  the  extreme  :  he 
could  not  publish  his  reasons,  lest  the  enemy  should  learn 
his  weakness.  Under  these  circumstances,  he  writes  thus 
to  a  confidential  friend  :  "  We  are  now  left  with  a  good 
deal  less  than  half-raised  regiments,  and  about  five  thou- 
sand militia.  *  *  *  If  I  shall  be  able  to  rise  superior  to 
these,  and  many  other  difficulties,  which  might  be*  enu- 
merated, I  shall  most  religiously  believe  that  the  finger  of 
Providence  is  in  it,  to  blind  the  eyes  of  our  enemies." 

About  this  time,  ships  commanded  by  Sir  Henry  Clin- 
ton left  the  harbor  of  Boston  on  a  secret  expedition.  It 
was  justly  surmised  that  he  was  bound  for  New  York. 
We  turn  once  more  to  the  state  of  affairs  in  that  province. 

As  has  been  said,  much  of  the  wealth  and  influence 
of  New  York  was  on  the  side  of  the  Tories.  Kichmond 
and  Queen's  counties  had  refused  to  send  delegates  to  the 
Provincial  Congress.  Governor  Tryon,  who  had  retired 
to  a  British  man-of-war  in  the  harbor,  kept  up  a  corre- 
spondence with  the  friends  of  the  royal  cause  in  the  city. 
There  was  published  the  most  influential  Tory  journal  in 
the  country,  "  Kivington's  Gazette " — "  a  thorn  in  the 
side  of  the  patriots."  Many  who  were  opposed  to  this 
journal  were  unwilling  to  adopt  violent  measures  ;  the 
committee  of  safety  refused  to  interfere  with  it.  Colonel 
Isaac  Sears,  one  of  the  boldest  and  most  energetic  of  the 
New  York  Sons  of  Liberty,  collected,  in  Connecticut, 
about  a  hundred  horsemen,  dashed  into  the  city,  broke  the 
press  and  carried  away  the  types  to  New  Haven. 


GENERAL  LEE  IN  NEW  YORK.  351 

The  possession  of  New  York,  as  it  was  "  the  key  to  CHAP. 

the  whole  continent,  a  passage  to  Canada,  to  the  great  

Lakes,  and  to  all  the  Indian  nations,"  was  all-important  1776. 
to  the  patriots.  It  was  determined  to  place  troops  there. 
Sears,  seconded  by  the  authority  of  Governor  Trambull, 
proceeded  to  form  regiments  in  Connecticut.  Washington 
ordered  General  Charles  Lee  to  take  command  of  these 
regiments,  and  proceed  with  them  to  New  York,  put  that 
city  in  a  state  of  defence,  call  in  aid  from  New  Jersey  to 
disarm  the  Tories  on  Long  Island  and  elsewhere— duties 
which  Lee  proceeded  forthwith  to  perform.  Governor 
Tryon  threatened  to  bombard  the  city  if  he  entered  it 
with  the  Connecticut  troops.  The  people  were  greatly 
alarmed.  The  Provincial  Congress  requested  Lee  not  to 
advance  for  the  present,  He  was  determined  to  push  on 
with  a  sufficient  number  of  troops  to  secure  the  city,  and 
threatened  in  his  turn,  "  if  they  make  a  pretext  of  my 
presence  to  fire  on  the  town,  the  first  house  set  on  flames 
by  their  guns  shall  be  the  funeral-pile  of  some  of  their  best 
friends."  He  entered  the  city  on  Sunday,  February  fourth,  Feb. 
and  encamped  on  the  spot  where  the  City  Hall  now  stands,  4> 
then  a  suburb  known  as  "  The  Fields." 

The  threats  and  counter-threats  had  wrought  up  the 
feelings  of  the  people  to  a  state  of  intense  excitement. 
During  the  day  this  was  greatly  increased  ;  cannon  were 
heard  from  the  Narrows.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  entering 
the  harbor.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  hastened  from  the 
city  ;  on  the  afternoon  of  that  Sabbath  day,  Kingsbridge 
was  thronged  with  people  and  wagons,  on  their  way  to  the 
country.  But  these  fears  were  soon  relieved.  Clinton 
gave  notice  that  he  came  merely  to  pay  a  visit  to  his 
"  friend  Tryon."  He  remained  but  a  short  time,  then 
sailed  away  to  North  Carolina.  His  mysterious  expedition  ' 
v  and  his  "  whimsical  civility  "  to  his  "  friend  Tryon  "  gave 

rise  to  much  speculation;  though,  as  he  had  but  few 

^ 
•*•  • 


** 


• 


f  I 

i 

352  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,   troops,  his  movements  had,  as  yet,  created  but  little  alarm. 
Lee  now  proceeded  to  put  the  city  in  a  state  of  defence. 

1776. 

Serious  difficulties  threatened  the  interior  of  the  prov- 
ince. Guy  Johnson  had  retired  to  Canada  ;  Sir  John 
Johnson  had  fortified  his  "  Hall/'  and  gathered  about  him 
his  Highlanders  and  Mohawks.  Schuyler  proceeded  to 
Jan-  disarm  and  disband  this  dangerous  company.  Sir  John 
gave  his  parole  not  to  take  up  arms  against  America.  A 
few  months  afterward  he  was  suspected  of  breaking  his 
word  ;  to  avoid  arrest,  he  fled  to  Canada,  where  he  re- 
ceived a  colonel's  commission,  and  organized  the  regi- 
ments called  the  "  Eoyal  Greens,"  afterward  so  renowned 
for  deeds  of  cruelty. 

During  this  winter,  Governor  Dunmore,  of  Virginia, 
who,  like  Tryon,  had  taken  refuge  in  one  of  the  king's 

June,    ships,  had  been  engaged  in  intrigues  against  the  colonists. 

Dec.  He  sent  a  vessel  to  Boston  with  supplies,  which,  however, 
was  captured.  In  a  letter  found  on  board,  ne  had  invited 
General  Howe  to  transfer  the  seat  of  war  to  the  South  ; 
he  also  landed  at  Norfolk,  carried  off  a  printing  press,  pub- 
lished a  proclamation  that  promised  freedom  to  the  slaves 
or  indented  white  servants  of  the  patriots,  who  would  join 
his  cause.  With  a  force  thus  collected  he  took  possession 
of  the  town.  Fugitive  slaves  and  others  began  to  flock 
to  his  banner.  Virginia  raised  new  regiments  to  dislodge 
him,  and  oppose  strong  movements  that  were  making  in 

Jan.,    his  favor.     The  second  regiment,  under  Woodford,  took 

1776.  possession  of  the  narrow  neck  which  connects  Norfolk  with 
the  mainland,  and  compelled  Dunmore  to  re-embark. 
Soon  after  he  returned,  bombarded  the  town,  and  landed 
a  party  who  burned  a  portion  of  it  to  the  ground.  The 
patriots  burned  the  remainder  lest  it  should  afford  shelter 
to  its  enemies.  Thus  perished  the  principal  shipping  port 
of  Virginia,  her  largest  and  richest  town. 


TOBIES    DEFEATED — CHARLESTON   THREATENED.  353 

The  British  were  secretly  planning  an  invasion  of  the  CHAP. 

South.     Governor  Martin,  of  North  Carolina,  who,  like  '_ 

many  of  the  royal  governors  of  that  day,  carried  on  opera-  1776. 
tions  from  on  board  a  ship,  was  stirring  up  the  Tories  of 
that  province,  many  of  whom  were  Highlanders.  He 
hoped  to  gather  a  land  force  to  co-operate  with  Sir  Peter 
Parker,  who  was  on  his  way  from  Ireland  with  a  fleet  of 
ten  ships,  on  board  of  which  were  seven  regiments.  The 
movements  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  could  now  be  accounted 
for.  He  had  left  Boston  to  take  command  of  the  land  forces 
in  this  intended  invasion  :  he  stopped  to  confer  on  the  sub- 
ject with  Tryon,  who  had  been  governor  of  North  Carolina. 

Martin  had  commissioned  two  prominent  Scotchmen, 
McDonald  and  McLeod — both  recent  emigrants,  and  offi- 
cers of  the  British  army.  General  McDonald  enlisted 
some  fifteen  hundred  men,  and  marched  for  the  coast,  but 
the  North  Carolina  patriots  were  on  the  alert.  He  was 
intercepted  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge,  sixteen  miles  from  Feb. 
Wilmington.  Colonel  McLeod  was  killed  ;  McDonald 
and  eight  hundred  and  fifty  loyalists  were  taken  prisoners. 
He  and  his  officers  were  sent  away  to  the  north. 

This  defeat,  which  at  the  first  glance  may  appear  of 
little  consequence,  was  important  in  its  bearing  ;  it  inter- 
fered for  a  time  with  the  plans  of  Clinton  and  Martin. 
This  delay  was  most  valuable  to  the  patriots  ;  they  had 
time  to  collect  forces  and  mature  plans  for  defence.  Gen- 
eral Lee  was  appointed  by  Congress  to  take  command  of 
the  southern  army  and  to  watch  Clinton,  who  was  hover- 
ing on  the  coast  in  expectation  of  the  British  squadron. 
After  long  delays  it  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  May. 
Eiver.  Congress  learned  from  intercepted  letters  that 
Charleston  was  to  be  attacked.  There,  at  the  first  alarm, 
six  thousand  men,  from  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas,  had 
assembled.  The  indefatigable  Lee  reached  the  city  just 
as  Clinton  appeared  in  the  harbor.  Had  the  enemy  at- 
tacked that  place  at  once,  they  might  have  taken  it  with 
23 


354  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAR  eage>     jj.  wag^  wrote  ;Lee^  «  perfectly  defenceless."     The 

opportunity  was  not  improved,  and  "both  parties  began  to 

1YT6.  fortify  and  prepare  for  a  contest.     Here  we  leave  them  for 

^ne  the  present,  and  return  to  the  camp  before  Boston. 

During  the  month  of  January  there  was  little  im- 
provement in  the  state  of  the  army.  On  the  tenth  of 
February  Washington  writes  :  "  Without  men,  without 
arms,  without  ammunition,  little  is  to  be  done."  The 
patriots  had  looked  hopefully  toward  Canada,  only  to  be 
disappointed.  Montgomery  had  fallen  ;  Morgan  and  his 
brave  band  were  prisoners  ;  the  remnant  of  the  shattered 
forces  that  lingered  with  Arnold  in  his  icy  fortress  before 
the  walls  of  Quebec,  could  accomplish  nothing.  The 
whole  line  of  the  Atlantic  coast  was  threatened  ;  and  in 
view  of  these  circumstances  Washington  was  anxious  to 
strike  a  decisive  blow,  that  should  encourage  the  despond- 
ing and  revive  popular  enthusiasm.  In  truth,  the  state 
of  public  feeling  demanded  such  a  course.  Congress  had 
Dec.,  authorized  him  to  push  the  attack  upon  Boston,  to  the 
1^5*  destruction  of  the  town,  should  it  be  necessary.  John 
Hancock,  who  had  large  possessions  there,  said  :  "  Do  it, 
and  may  God  crown  your  attempt  with  success."  When 
the  bay  became  frozen,  Washington  was  impatient  to  cross 
over  on  the  ice  ;  again  and  again  he  proposed  an  attack, 
but  a  council  of  war  as  often  decided  that  the  force  was 
still  too  weak,  the  ammunition  too  scant.  Meanwhile, 
Putnam  was  actively  engaged  in  constructing  works  on 
the  neighboring  heights.  Many  of  the  labors  conducted 
by  the  brave  old  general  had  to  be  attended  to  in  the  night- 
time, to  avoid  the  fire  from  the  enemy's  ships.  Toward 
spring,  affairs  began  to  wear  a  brighter  aspect.  Ten  new 
regiments  of  militia  were  enlisted ;  the  great  want  that 
paralyzed  every  effort — powder — was  supplied  from  various 
quarters  ;  some  was  obtained  from  New  York,  some  from 
Bermuda  :  the  Connecticut  mills  were  also  in  operation. 


DORCHESTER    HEIGHTS   TO    BE   FORTIFIED.  355 

Now,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  camp,  Knox  returned  with   CHAP. 

his  long  train  of  sledges  laden  with  ammunition,  and  can-  1 

non  of  various  kinds.  With  the  joy  was  mingled  admira-  1776. 
tion  for  the  energy  displayed.  He  had  travelled  more 
than  four  hundred  miles,  over  frozen  streams  and  through 
a  wilderness  obstructed  by  the  snows  of  winter.  The  dull 
monotony  of  inaction  gave  way  to  bustle  and  excitement. 
All  was  now  ready  for  active  operations.  The  heights 
that  commanded  the  town  must  be  seized  and  fortified. 
Putnam  had  already  fortified  Lechmere  Point,  on  the 
north  ;  there  he  had  mounted  his  famous  "  Congress :  " 
that  point  had  only  to  be  supplied  with  more  large  cannon 
and  with  powder.  Now  the  main  object  was  to  secure 
Dorchester  Heights,  which  commanded  the  town  on  the 
south,  and  also  the  harbor.  This  would  compel  the  enemy 
to  leave  the  town,  or  bring  on  a  general  engagement : 
plans  were  laid  accordingly. 

To  divert  the  attention  of  the  enemy  while  prepara- 
tions were  in  progress,  Boston  was  to  be  bombarded,  and 
cannonaded  from  different  points.  Should  the  Americans 
attain  the  heights,  and  the  enemy  attempt  to  dislodge 
them,  Putnam,  with  four  thousand  picked  men,  was  pre- 
pared to  cross  Charles  river  and  attack  the  north  part  of 
the  town. 

Washington,  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
the  coming  struggle,  issued  orders  forbidding  "  all  playing 
at  cards  or  other  games  of  chance,"  adding,  "  In  this  time 
of  public  distress,  men  may  find  enough  to  do  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God  and  their  country,  without  abandoning  them- 
selves to  vice  and  immorality."  He  also  warned  the  troops, 
"  If  any  man  in  action  shall  presume  to  skulk,  hide  him- 
self, or  retreat  from  the  enemy  without  orders,  he  will  be 
instantly  shot  down  as  an  example  of  cowardice/' 

The  fourth  of  March  was  fixed  upon  for  the  enterprise. 
On  the  evening  of  that  day,  the  detachment  under  Gen- 
eral Thomas,  designed  to  occupy  the  heights,  moved  as 


356  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


quietly  as  possible.  In  the  advance  were  eight  hundred 
_  1  men  ;  then  came  the  carts  with  the  intrenching  tools  ; 
1776.  then  twelve  hundred  more  men,  and  in  the  rear  were  three 
hundred  wagons  laden  with  bales  of  hay  and  bundles  of 
fagots  to  be  used  in  making  the  breastwork.  They  reached 
the  heights  about  eight  o'clock  ;  amid  the  roar  of  artillery 
—  for  the  enemy  were  returning  the  fire  directed  against 
them  with  great  spirit  —  the  noise  of  the  wagons  and  the 
necessary  bustle  of  the  movement  had  been  unheard. 
Though  the  earth  was  frozen  eighteen  inches  deep,  they 
threw  up  an  embankment,  and  used  their  hay  and  other 
material  to  great  advantage.  During  that  night  of  labor, 
the  Commander-in-chief  was  drawn  by  his  interest  to  the 
spot.  In  the  morning  the  fortification  appeared  very 
formidable.  General  Howe,  as  he  examined  it  through 
the  mist,  exclaimed  :  "  The  rebels  have  done  more  work 
in  one  night  than  my  whole  army  would  have  done  in  a 
month."  The  patriots,  at  this  crisis,  watched  the  move- 
ments of  the  enemy  with  intense  interest.  A  cannonade 
was  opened  upon  the  heights,  but  without  much  effect. 
Howe  did  not  attempt  to  storm  the  works.  A  night 
attack  was  resolved  upon,  but  a  furious  storm  arose,  the 
ships  of  war  could  render  no  service,  nor  could  the  boats 
land  in  the  heavy  surf.  Before  the  storm  was  over,  the 
Americans  were  too  strong  to  be  assaulted.  A  council  of 
war  advised  Howe  to  evacuate  the  town,  as  both  it  and 
the  shipping  were  exposed  to  a  destructive  bombardment. 
To  insure  the  safety  of  his  army  during  the  embarkation, 
Howe  appealed  to  the  fears  of  the  inhabitants  ;  he  inti- 
mated he  would  burn  the  town  if  his  troops  were  fired 
upon.  A  deputation  of  citizens  made  this  known,  in  an 
informal  manner  to  Washington,  and  the  British  were 
suffered  to  depart  unmolested. 

Eleven  days  were  employed  in  the  embarkation.  About 
fifteen  hundred  loyalists  made  ready  to  leaye  with  the 
departing  army  ;  thus  was  the  good  city  of  Boston  purged 


WASHINGTON   IN    NEW    YORK.  357 

of  its  Tory  population.     Authorized  by  Howe,  the  British  CHAP. 

demanded  of  the  inhabitants  all  the  linen  and  woollen  1 

goods  ;  salt,  molasses,  and  other  necessaries  were  destroyed.  17T6. 
Crean  Brush,  a  New  York  Tory,  who  was  commissioned  to 
take  charge  of  the  goods  that  were  seized,  took  advantage 
of  his  authority,  and  broke  open  and  pillaged  stores  and 
private  houses,  as  did  some  of  the  soldiers.  The  embarka- 
tion was  hastened,  at  the  last,  by  a  false  alarm  that  the 
Americans  were  about  to  assault  the  town. 

On  the  next  Monday,  March  eighteenth,  Washington  Mar 
entered  the  city.  He  was  received  with  joy  by  the  remain-  18. 
ing  inhabitants.  After  a  siege  of  ten  months  Boston  was 
again  free  ;  above  it  waved  the  Union  flag  of  thirteen 
stripes.  The  British  fleet,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  vessels,  lay  for  some  days  in  Nantasket  roads,  and 
then  bore  away.  Washington  feared  its  destination  was 
New  York.  As  soon  as  possible  he  hastened  thither  with 
the  main  body  of  the  army.  Five  regiments  remained  at 
Boston  with  General  Ward.  Soon  afterward  he  resigned, 
but  served  the  cause  in  the  Massachusetts  council  and  in 
Congress. 

The  land  rejoiced  greatly  at  this  success.  On  motion 
of  John  Adams,  Congress  gave  Washington  a  unanimous 
vote  of  thanks,  and  ordered  a  gold  medal  to  be  struck  in 
commemoration  of  the  event. 

The  expenses  of  the  war  were  so  great,  that  just  before    -^- 
this  Congress  had  been  obliged  to  issue  four  additional 
millions  of  continental  paper.     A  financial  committee  had 
been  appointed,  and  now  an  auditor-general  and  assistants  April, 
were  to  act  under  this  committee  ;  this  assumed  the  form 
of  a  Treasury  Department.     Two  months  later  Congress 
established  a  War  Office,  and  appointed  a  committee  of 
five  members  to  superintend  its  operations.     To  act  as 
chairman  of  this   committee,  John  Adams  resigned  the 
office  of  chief  justice  of  Massachusetts, 


•: 

358  HISTORY   OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 

xxix'         Washington  reached  New  York  on  the  thirteenth  of 

April ;  there  he  found  much  to  be  done.     The  Heights 

1776.  of  Long  Island,  Kingsbridge,  the  main  avenue  from  the 
city  by  land,  were  at  best  but  imperfectly  guarded,  and 
many  prominent  points  on  the  river  and  Sound  were  en- 
tirely undefended. 

Governor  Tryon  and  the  British  ships  in  the  harbor 
were  in  constant  communication  with  the  Tories  in  the 
city.  To  guard  against  these  dangers,  external  and  inter- 
nal, Washington  had  but  eight  thousand  effective  men. 
General  Greene  was  sent  with  one  division  to  fortify  what 
is  now  Brooklyn  Heights,  on  Long  Island,  as  they  com- 
manded New  York.  He  was  also  to  make  himself  familiar 
with  the  surrounding  country.  Urged  by  the  commander- 
in-chief,  the  committee  of  safety  were  induced  to  prohibit 
all  intercourse  with  Governor  Tryon.  Any  such  inter- 
course, if  discovered,  was  to  be  severely  punished.  But 
Tryon,  aided  by  spies  and  agents,  continued  his  efforts  in 
the  king's  cause.  A  conspiracy,  to  which  he  had  insti- 
gated the  Tories,  was  fortunately  discovered.  Some  of 
these  may  have  been  true  loyalists,  but  there  were  others 
basely  won  by  the  promise  of  reward.  In  low  taverns  and 
drinking-saloons  the  patriot  soldiers  were  tampered  with. 
The  mayor  of  the  city  was  arrested,  as  well  as  some  of 
Washington's  body-guard,  charged  with  being  concerned 
in  the  plot.  One  of  the  guard,  Thomas  Hickey,  a  deserter 
from  the  British  army,  was  hanged,  "  for  mutiny,  sedition, 
€  and  treachery."  This  example  alarmed  the  Tories,  and 

June    we  hear  of  no  more  plots. 
28. 

For  the  first  time  Washington  learned  of  the  measures 
MW  of  the  British  Parliament.  The  hired  Hessian  and  Ger- 
man troops  were  landing  in  Canada.  New  apprehensions 
were  awakened  for  the  army  in  that  province.  Great 
efforts  were  made  to  reinforce  it  ;  regiments  were  sent 
under  Sullivan  and  Thompson.  Early  in  the  spring  Gen- 


AMERICAN    TEOOPS   DRIVEN    OUT    OF    CANADA.  359 

eral  Wooster  had  joined  Arnold,  and  taken  the  command  CHAP. 

at  Quebec.     But  it  was  not  easy  for  Arnold  to  act  in  con-  , 

cert  with  a  superior  officer  ;  as  usual,  he  had  difficulty  1776. 
with  Wooster,  and  retired  to  Montreal.  Soon  after  Woos- 
ter was  recalled,  and  Thomas,  now  a  major-general,  was 
appointed  to  the  northern  army.  General  Carleton  was 
strongly  reinforced,  and  Thomas  was  compelled  to  make 
a  hasty  retreat  from  before  Quebec — so  hasty,  that  the 
baggage,  the  artillery,  and  even  the  sick  were  left  behind. 
The  noble  humanity  of  Carleton  deserves  to  be  recorded. 
He  sought  out  the  sick,  many  of  whom  had  hid  from  him 
in  terror,  conveyed  them  to  the  general  hospitals,  and  prom- 
ised that  on  their  recovery  they  should  be  permitted  to 
return  home.  Thomas  hastened  to  the  Sorel,  where,  on  June<| 
the  second  of  June,  he  died  of  the  small-pox,  which  pre- 
vailed greatly  in  the  army.  Though  the  army  once  more 
changed  its  commander,  there  was  no  change  in  its  pros- 
pects ;  they  continued  to  be  of  the  gloomiest  character. 
Carleton  came  pressing  on  with  a  force  of  thirteen  thou- 
sand men.  General  Thompson,  with  a  portion  of  the 
American  troops,  was  defeated  at  Three  Kivers  ;  and  he, 
with  his  officers  and  many  of  his  men,  were  taken  prison- 
ers. Those  who  escaped  joined  Sullivan  on  the  Sorel. 

Arnold  had  been  equally  unfortunate  at  Montreal.    He 
stationed  a  detachment  of  four  hundred  men  at  a  point      m-\ 
called  The  Cedars,  about  forty  miles  above  that  place,  in 
order  to  intercept  the  stores  sent  to  the  enemy.     As  this 
post  was  threatened  with  an  attack,  it  was  shamefully  m 
surrendered  by  Colonel  Butterworth,  without  a  blow.     A 
reinforcement  sent  to  their  aid  was  also  taken  prisoners. 
Arnold  now  joined  Sullivan.     A  council  of  war  decided 
upon  a  retreat,  and  the  wreck  of  the  army  passed  out  of 
Canada,  followed  by  a  strong  British  force. 

The  army  was  in  a  deplorable  condition  when  it  reached 
Crown  Point.  To  use  the  words  of  John  Adams,  it  was 
"  defeated,  discontented,  dispirited,  diseased,  no  clothes, 


360  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  "beds,  blankets,  nor  medicines  ;  no  victuals  but  salt  pork 

and  flour."      Thus  ended  this  invasion,  famous  for    its 

1776.    daring  exploits  and  numerous  disasters. 

Congress  approved  of  Sullivan's  prudent  retreat  ;  they 
did  not,  however,  confirm  him  in  the  authority  that  had 
devolved  upon  him  on  the  death  of  General  Thomas. 
They  appointed  Major-general  Gates  to  the  command, 
and  awarded  Sullivan  a  vote  of  thanks — an  honor  as  un- 
satisfactory to  him  as  it  was  empty  in  itself.  Sullivan 
was  deeply  wounded,  as  was  General  Schuyler,  for  Gates 
claimed  the  command,  not  only  of  the  forces  on  Lake 
Champlain,  but  of  the  whole  northern  army. 

Horatio  Gates,  like  Lee,  was  of  foreign  birth  ;  like 
him,  he  was  a  disappointed  man.  Of  his  very  early  life 
little  is  known.  He  served  in  America  under  Braddock, 
in  the  West  Indies  under  Monckton  ;  but  as  he  did  not 
receive  from  his  native  England  the  honors  which  he 
thought  his  due,  he  sold  his  commission  in  the  British 
army,  and  retired  to  Virginia,  where  he  renewed  his  ac- 
quaintance with  Washington,  and  with  his  former  asso- 
ciate, General  Lee.  Gates  was  ambitious,  and  the  revo- 
lution opened  a  path  to  distinction.  As  an  office-seeker 
he  had,  it  is  said,  learned  to  "  flatter  and  accommodate 
n  himself  to  the  humors  of  others."  He  could  be  "  the  boon 
companion  of  gentlemen,  and  l  hail  fellow  well  met '  with 
the  vulgar."  He  ingratiated  himself  with  the  New  Eng- 
^  landers,  with  whom,  for  some  reason,  Schuyler  was  un- 
popular. Through  their  influence,  it  is  thought,  Gates 
obtained  what  he  aimed  at — promotion.  The  enemies  of 
Schuyler  advanced  serious  charges  against  him  ;  attribu- 
ted to  him  the  failure  of  the  Canada  expedition,  and  even 
hinted  at  treason.  There  is  an  instinct  common  to  noble 
minds  by  which  they  discern  truth  in  others.  Washington 
never  doubted  the  integrity  of  Schuyler,  nor  did  Congress 
sustain  Gates  in  his  claim  to  supersede  him.  The  appoint- 


BRITISH    FLEET   BEFORE    FORT   MOULTRIE.  361 

ment  of  the  latter,  they  said,  referred  only  to  the  forces   CHAP 

while  in  Canada  ;  elsewhere  he  was  subordinate  to  Schuy-  

ler.     The  difficulty  was  passed  over,  as  the  result  of  a    1Y76. 
mistake,  and  the  rival  commanders  assumed  the  appear- 
ance of  satisfaction. 

We  now  return  to  Charleston,  where  we  left  both  par-  § 
ties  preparing  for  a  contest.  On  the  fate  of  Sullivan's 
Island,  the  key  to  the  harbor,  the  result  seemed  to  depend. 
One  party  was  making  ready  to  attack,  the  other  to  de- 
fend it.  On  the  south-west  point  of  this  island  was  a  fort 
commanded  by  Colonel  William  Moultrie.  Fort  Moultrie 
was  constructed  of  logs  of  palmetto,  a  wood  soft  and 
spongy  ;  cannon-balls  could  not  splinter  it.  Lee,  not 
familiar  with  the  palmetto,  thought  it  madness  to  attempt 
to  defend  so  fragile  a  fort  ;  he  contemptuously  styled  it 
the  "  Slaughter-pen."  This  important  post  was  threat- 
ened by  sea  and  land.  Before  it  lay  the  British  fleet 
under  Sir  Peter  Parker.  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  two 
thousand  men,  had  taken  possession  of  Long  Island,  which 
lay  to  the  east  of  Sullivan's  Island,  and  was  separated 
from  it  only  by  a  narrow  creek.  Here  he  was  erecting 
batteries  to  cover  his  passage  across  the  creek,  to  assault 
the  fort  when  the  fire  of  the  ships  should  make  a  breach. 
To  oppose  him  the  Americans  stationed  a  force  under 
Colonel  Thompson  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek.  Lee 
took  his  position  on  a  point  of  the  mainland  north  of  the 
island,  where  he  stood  ready,  at  any  moment,  to  aid  either 
Thompson  or  Moultrie. 

The  strength  of  the  fort  was  now  to  be  tested.  On 
the  twenty-eighth  of  June  the  formidable  fleet  of  Parker 
advanced  and  commenced  a  "  most  furious  fire,"  which 
was  returned  with  great  spirit.  The  firing  had  but  little 
effect  upon  the  low  wooden  fort,  while  the  ships  of  the 
enemy  were  almost  torn  in  pieces.  In  the  midst  of  the 
terrific  roar  of  artillery  the  Americans  stood  bravely  to 


362  HISTORY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 

xxix'  ^eir  guns  )  some  of  them  remained  at  their  posts  even 

after  they  had  lost  a  limb.     For  ten  hours  the  battle 

1776.  raged  without  intermission.  Then  Sir  Peter  drew  off  his 
ships.  Among  the  slain  was  Lord  Campbell,  ex-governor 
of  the  province,  who  fought  as  a  volunteer  on  board  the 
admiral's  ship. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  made  repeated  attempts  to  reach 
Sullivan's  Island,  but  was  as  often  foiled  by  the  batteries 
of  Thompson.  Several  of  the  ships  ran  aground  ;  one, 
the  Acteon,  was  set  on  fire  with  her  guns  loaded  and  colors 
flying,  and  then  abandoned.  The  Americans,  determined 
to  secure  a  trophy,  boarded  the  burning  vessel,  fired  her 
guns  at  the  retreating  enemy,  took  possession  of  her  colors, 
loaded  three  boats  with  stores,  and  departed  in  safety, 
before  she  blew  up.  Among  the  many  heroic  incidents 
connected  with  this  battle,  one  is  related  of  Sergeant  Jas- 
per. The  flag-staff  was  cut  by  a  ball,  and  the  flag  fell 
outside  the  fort.  Jasper  immediately  leaped  down,  and, 
amid  the  "  iron  hail/'  picked  up  the  flag,  tied  it  to  a  pole, 
+  deliberately  placed  it  on  the  parapet,  and  then  returned 
to  his  companions  at  the  guns.  Governor  Kutledge  appre- 
ciated the  heroic  deed  ;  a  few  days  after  he  presented  his 
own  sword  to  Jasper,  and  offered  him  a  lieutenant's  com- 
mission. He  accepted  the  sword,  but  modestly  declined  pro- 
motion, on  the  ground  that  he  could  neither  read  nor  write. 
June  On  the  very  day  that  this  battle  took  place  at  the 
28.  South,  a  British  fleet  of  forty  vessels  entered  the  harbor 
of  New  York.  On  board  was  General  Howe,  and  with 
him  the  late  garrison  of  Boston.  Since  the  evacuation  of 
that  place  he  had  been  at  Halifax  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
his  brother,  Admiral  Howe.  He  landed  his  forces  on 
Staten  Island,  where  he  was  received  with  demonstrations 
of  joy  by  the  Tories.  Clouds  of  deeper  darkness  were  gath- 
ering around  New  York.  The  Admiral  with  more  forces 
might  be  expected  at  any  moment  ;  the  crisis  so  long 
dreaded  was  at  hand.  The  American  soldiers  were  ordered 


A   CRISIS   AT   HAND.  363 

p 

to  be  each  day  at  their  alarm  posts,  and  to  be  in  readiness  CHAP. 

for  instant  action.     Orders  to  the  same  effect  were  sent  

up  the  river.  Humors  of  disaffection  in  that  quarter  1776. 
added  the  fear  of  treachery  to  the  general  alarm.  Such 
was  the  state  of  things  ; — the  northern  army  defeated  and 
broken,  the  fleet  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  on  its  way  from  the 
South,  Admiral  Howe  on  his  way  from  England,  the  har- 
bor of  New  York  filled  with  the  enemy's  ships, — when  an 
event  took  place,  most  important  in  American  history. 
The  colonies  declared  themselves  independent  of  all  foreign 
authority,  and  took  their  place  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth. 


CHAPTEK    XXX. 

WAR   OF   THE   REVOLUTION-CONTINUED, 

The  Question  of  Independence;  Influences  in  favor  of. — The  Tories. — 
"  Common  Sense." — The  Declaration  ;  its  Reception  by  the  People  and 
Army. — Arrival  of  Admiral  Howe. — His  Overtures  for  Reconciliation. — 
The  American  Army  ;  its  Composition. — Sectional  Jealousies. — The 
Forts  on  the  Hudson.— The  Clintons.— Battle  of  Long  Island.— The 
Masterly  Retreat. — Incidents. — Camp  on  Harlem  Heights. — Howe  con- 
fers with  a  Committee  of  Congress. — Nathan  Hale. — The  British  at 
Kipp's  Bay. — New  York  evacuated.  Conflict  at  White  Plains. — The 
Retreat  across  New  Jersey. — Waywardness  of  Lee. 

CHAP.  THE  alienation  between  the  colonies  and  the  mother  coun- 

1  try  began  at  the  close  of  the  French  war.     It  was  not  the 

1776.  result  of  any  one  cause,  but  of  many  ;  the  change  of  feel- 
ing was  not  instantaneous,  but  gradual.  As  the  struggle 
took  a  more  decided  form,  many,  who  were  determined  in 
their  resistance  to  oppression,  were  unwilling  to  cast  off 
their  allegiance  to  the  land  to  which  their  fathers  still 
gave  the  endearing  name  of  "  home."  There  were,  how- 
ever, among  the  true  Sons  of  Liberty  a  few  who  had  seen 
the  end  from  the  beginning.  Such  men  as  Samuel  Adams 
and  Patrick  Henry  foresaw  the  haughty  obstinacy  of  the 
British  ministry,  and  foretold  the  result.  "  Independent 
we  are  and  independent  we  will  be,"  said  Adams  ;  and 
Henry  exclaimed,  in  the  Virginia  Assembly  :  "  We  must 
fight !  An  appeal  to  arms  and  the  God  of  Hosts  is  all 
that  is  left  us  ! " 

What  had  long  been  felt  by  the  few,  now  flashed  upon 


THE    QUESTION   OF    INDEPENDENCE.  365 

the  minds  of  the  many,  that  they  could  never  enjoy  their  CHAP. 

rights  but  as  a  self-governing  nation.     Would   the  op-  

pressions  of  the  home  government  justify  separation,  which    1776. 
would  involve  all  the  horrors  of  a  protracted  and  doubtful 
war  ?     This  question  became  the  subject  of  discussion  in 
the  Provincial  Assemblies,  and  among  the  people  them- 
selves. 

It  was  not  arbitrary  and  unjust  laws  alone,  nor  the 
refusal  of  political  rights,  that  had  estranged  the  American 
people.  Keligious  views  had  their  influence  in  moulding 
public  sentiment  in  favor  of  independence.  Long-con- 
tinued and  persistent  efforts  to  establish  the  Episcopal 
church  in  New  England,  had  roused  the  latent  hostility 
of  the  Congregationalists — they  would  not  submit  to  Eng- 
lish control  in  matters  of  religion.  The  Presbyterians  of 
the  middle  and  southern  colonies,  derived,  as  they  were, 
from  the  dissenting  Scottish  church,  had  a  traditionary 
feeling  of  opposition  to  the  same  influence.  Both  pastors 
and  people  were  stanch  Whigs,  and  went  hand  in  hand 
with  the  ministers  and  people  of  New  England.  Even  in 
Virginia,  where  the  Episcopal  church  was  established  by 
law,  and  where  the  majority  of  the  people  were  its  advo- 
cates, the  attempt  to  place  over  them  a  bishop  was  de- 
nounced by  the  House  of  Burgesses  as  a  "  pernicious  pro- 
ject." Though  strenuous  churchmen,  they  were  jealous 
of  external  influences,  and  repudiated  the  control  of  the 
mother  church.  On  the  contrary,  the  Episcopal  clergy, 
great  numbers  of  whom  were  Englishmen  by  birth,  from 
their  associations  were  inclined  to  favor  the  royal  author- 
ity. Nor  should  we  judge  them  harshly  ;  they  acted  in 
accordance  with  their  views  of  the  intimate  connection  of 
church  and  state.  These  views  influenced  the  members 
of  that  church  more  in  the  northern  than  in  the  southern 
colonies,  and  great  numbers  of  them  faithfully  adhered  to 
the  "  Lord's  anointed,"  as  they  termed  the  king. 

The  peace-loving  Quakers,  numerous  in  Pennsylvania, 


366  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


Jersey?  an(l  Delaware,  opposed  war  as  wrong  in  itself. 
The  Moravians  held  similar  views.  These  grieved  over 
17T6.  the  violation  of  their  rights,  yet  they  hoped  by  pacific 
measures  to  obtain  justice. 

There  were  others  who,  though  not  opposed  to  war, 
believed  it  to  be  wrong  to  rise  in  opposition  to  the  rule  of 
the  mother  country.  There  were  also  the  timid,  who 
deemed  it  madness  to  resist  a  power  so  colossal.  There 
were  the  low  and  grovelling,  who  sought  only  an  opportu- 
nity to  plunder  ;  the  time-serving  and  the  avaricious,  who, 
for  the  gain  they  might  acquire  as  contractors  for  the 
British  army,  or  by  furnishing  provisions  for  prisoners, 
joined  the  enemies  of  their  country. 

The  evacuation  of  Boston  strengthened  the  already 
strong  feeling  in  favor  of  independence  so  prevalent  in 
New  England.  In  the  South,  the  recent  risings  of  the 
Tories  in  North  Carolina,  the  ravages  of  Dunmore  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  the  attack  upon  Charleston,  served  still  more 
to  alienate  the  affections  of  the  people  ;  while  their  suc- 
cess in  repelling  the  invasion  gave  them  assurance.  For 
many  reasons  they  wished  to  be  independent.  Then  they 
could  form  treaties  with  other  nations,  and  the  brand  of 
rebel,  so  repugnant  to  an  honorable  mind,  would  be  re- 
moved. In  truth,  Congress  had  already  taken  the  ground 
of  an  independent  government  by  offering  free  trade  to 
other  nations,  in  all  merchandise  except  that  of  British 
manufacture,  and  slaves,  —  the  latter  traffic  they  had  pro- 
hibited some  months  before. 

About  the  first  of  the  year,  a  pamphlet  was  issued  in 
Philadelphia,  under  the  title  of  "  Common  Sense,"  which 
had  a  great  influence  upon  the  public  mind.  Its  author, 
Thomas  Paine,  an  Englishman,  had  been  in  the  country 
but  a  few  months.  In  a  style  adapted  to  convince  the 
popular  mind,  he  exposed  the  folly  of  delaying  any  longer 
a  formal  separation  from  the  mother  country.  The  pam- 
phlet had  a  very  great  circulation,  and  a  proportionate 


THE    COMMITTEE.  367 

• 

influence  in  deciding  the  timid  and  wavering  in  favor  of   (SA?- 

independence.  

1776. 

On  the  seventh  of  June,  Kichard  Henry  Lee  intro- 
duced a  resolution  into  Congress,  declaring,  "  That  the 
United  Colonies  are  and  ought  to  be  free  and  independent 
States,  and  that  their  political  connection  with  Great 
Britain  is  and  ought  to  be  dissolved."  Upon  this  resolution 
sprang  up  an  animated  discussion.  It  was  opposed,  prin- 
cipally, on  the  ground  that  it  was  premature.  Some  of 
the  best  and  strongest  advocates  of  colonial  rights  spoke 
and  voted  against  the  motion,  which  passed  only  by  a 
bare  majority  of  seven  States  to  six.  Some  of  the  dele- 
gates had  not  received  instructions  from  their  constituents 
on  the  subject,  and  others  were  instructed  to  vote  against 
it.  Its  consideration  was  prudently  deferred  until  there 
was  a  prospect  of  greater  unanimity.  Accordingly  on  the 
eleventh  a  committee,  consisting  of  Doctor  Franklin,  John 
Adams,  Thomas  Jefferson,  of  Virginia,  Koger  Sherman, 
of  Connecticut,  and  Kobert  K.  Livingston,  of  New  York, 
was  appointed  to  prepare  a  Declaration.  To  give  oppor- 
tunity for  union  of  opinion,  the  consideration  of  the  sub- 
ject was  postponed  to  the  first  of  July.  At  the  same  time 
two  other  committees  were  appointed  ;  one  to  draw  up  a 
plan  for  uniting  all  the  colonies,  the  other  to  devise  meas- 
ures to  form  foreign  alliances. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  the  committee  reported  the  dec-  June, 
laration  to  the  house.  It  was  drawn  by  Jefferson,  and 
contained  a  gracefully  written  summary  of  the  sentiments 
of  the  people  and  Congress.  After  a  few  verbal  altera- 
tions suggested  by  Adams  and  Franklin,  it  was  approved 
by  the  committee.  The  house,  however,  struck  out  a  few 
passages.  One  of  these  reflected  severely  upon  the  British 
government ;  another  denounced  the  slave-trade  ;  another 
censured  the  king  for  his  attempts  to  prevent,  by  the  re- 
fusal of  his  signature,  the  enactment  of  laws  designed  to 


368  HISTOKY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


tliat  traffic.  They  were  unwilling  to  offend  the 
friends  of  the  colonies  in  Britain,  and  feared  lest  these 
1TT6.  strong  expressions  might  prevent  the  declaration  from 
receiving  a  unanimous  vote.  The  vote  was  taken  by 
States  ;  the  delegates  were  not  unanimous,  but  there  were 
a  sufficient  number  to  give  the  vote  of  all  the  colonies, 
New  York  alone  excepted,  which  was  given  in  a  few  days. 
The  announcement  was  delayed  till  the  declaration  should 
receive  a  few  amendments,  and  then,  on  July  the  fourth, 
4.  it  was  formally  adopted,  and  the  thirteen  colonies  became 
THE  THIRTEEN  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 
#  The  bell  of  the  State  House,  in  which  Congress  held 
its  sessions,  has  upon  it  the  inscription  :  "  Proclaim  lib- 
erty throughout  all  the  land  unto  all  the  inhabitants 
thereof"  —  words  taken  from  the  Bible.  Congress  sat  with 
closed  doors,  but  it  was  known  far  and  wide,  that  the 
subject  of  independence  was  under  discussion.  Crowds 
assembled  outside  the  Hall,  and  waited  anxiously  to 
learn  the  result.  At  mid-day  the  appointed  signal  was 
given.  The  bell  was  struck,  and  to  its  tones  responded 
the  joyous  shouts  of  multitudes.  The  friends  of  liberty 
and  independence  breathed  more  freely  ;  the  declara- 
tion was  made  ;  the  hesitancy  of  indecision  was  over, 
and  the  spirit  of  determination  arose.  It  was  published  ; 
it  was  read  to  the  army  ;  the  soldiers  received  it  with 
shouts  of  exultation  and  pledges  to  defend  its  prin- 
ciples ;  it  was  announced  in  the  papers  ;  from  the  pulpits, 
and  everywhere  the  Whigs  hailed  it  with  joy.  Hopes  of 
reconciliation,  which  had  so  much  paralyzed  measures  of 
defence,  were  at  an  end  ;  there  was  now  no  neutral  ground. 
The  timid  though  honest  friends  of  their  country,  who  had 
so  long  hesitated,  generally  sided  with  liberty.  The  Tories 
were  in  a  sad  condition  ;  the  great  majority  of  them  were 
wealthy,  and  had  hoped  that  the  difficulties  would  yet  be 
arranged.  Laws  passed  by  the  new  State  authorities  had 
rendered  them  liable  to  fines  and  imprisonments,  and  theii 


ARRIVAL    OF   ADMIRAL   HOWE — HIS   CIRCULAR.  369 

property  to  confiscation.     They  endured  many  outrages,  CHAP. 

and  were  subjected  to  "  tarrings  and  featherings "  innu-  '_ 

merable,  by  self-constituted  vigilance  committees.     Con-    1776. 
gress,  to  prevent  these  outrages,  gave  the  supervision  of 
Tories  to  committees  of  inspection.     The  most  obnoxious 
were  fain  to  emigrate,  and  the  committee  admonished  or 
restrained  the  others  within  certain  limits. 

The  soldiers  in  New  York  manifested  their  zeal  by 
taking  a  leaden  statue  of  King  George,  which  stood  in  the 
Bowling  Green,  and  running  it  into  bullets,  to  be  used  in 
the  cause  of  independence.  To  impress  upon  their  minds 
a  sense  of  the  dignity  of  their  position,  as  well  as  to  re- 
prove this  irregularity,  Washington,  in  the  orders,  the  fol- 
lowing day,  referred  to  the  subject.  "  The  general  hopes 
and  trusts,"  said  he,  "  that  every  officer  and  soldier  will 
endeavor  so  to  live  and  act,  as  becomes  a  Christian  soldier 
defending  the  dearest  rights  and  liberties  of  his  country." 

A  few  days  after  the  public  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, the  booming  of  cannon  from  the  British  vessels  in 
the  harbor  of  New  York  announced  the  arrival  of  Admiral 
Howe.  To  his  brother  and  himself  had  been  committed 
the  general  control  of  American  affairs. 

Before  he  proceeded  to  hostilities,  the  admiral  ad- 
dressed a  circular  to  the  people  ;  he  offered  them  pardon 
if  they  would  cease  to  be  rebels,  lay  down  their  arms,  and 
trust  the  king's  mercy.  As  soon  as  this  circular  reached 
Congress,  that  body  caused  it  to  be  published  in  all  the 
newspapers,  that  the  people  might  see  that  Britain  would 
grant  nothing,  and  accept  no  concession  short  of  absolute 
submission.  "  They  must  fight  or  be  slaves." 

Howe  also  attempted  to  open  a  correspondence  with* 
Washington.  As  Parliament  refused  to  acknowledge 
titles  conferred  by  Congress,  his  letters  were  addressed, 
first  to  Mr.  George  Washington,  then  to  George  Wash- 
ington, Esquire,  &c.,  dc.,  hoping  that  the  &c/s  would 
24 


I 


370  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Bk 

CHAP,   remove  the  difficulty  ;  but  the  Commander-in-chief,  justly 

1_ L  tenacious  of  the  dignity  of  his  office,  and  of  the  honor  of 

1776.  his  country,  politely  but  firmly  refused  to  receive  them. 
The  messenger  expressed  his  regret  that  the  correspond- 
ence could  not  be  opened.  His  lordship,  he  said,  wished 
for  peace  ;  he  was  vested  with  great  powers.  Washington 
replied  that  he  understood  Lord  Howe  had  power  to  grant 
pardons ;  the  Americans  had  defended  their  rights  ;  they 
had  committed  no  crime,  and  needed  no  pardon. 

The  Admiral  was  disappointed,  he  really  desired  peace. 
The  reception  he  had  met  with  had  encouraged  his  hopes  ; 
he  had  received  loyal  addresses  from  the  Tories  of  New 
Jersey,  Long  and  Staten  Islands ;  Governor  Tryon  had 
assured  him  there  were  many  others,  secret  friends  of 
England,  who  might  be  induced  to  join  him.  But,  to 
his  surprise,  his  circular,  from  which  he  had  hoped  much, 
produced  little  or  no  effect.  He  was  now  convinced  that 
nothing  could  be  accomplished  except  by  force  of  arms. 
Meanwhile  his  army,  now  on  Staten  Island,  received 
many  accessions  ;  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  arrived,  and 
more  Hessian  troops  had  landed.  His  whole  force  was 
about  thirty-five  thousand. 

As  it  had  become  more  and  more  evident  that  New 
York  was  to  be  the  theatre  of  the  war,  further  prepara- 
tions had  been  made  to  defend  the  city  and  neighborhood. 
Pennsylvania  had  sent  four  continental  regiments,  com- 
manded respectively  by  Colonels  St.  Clair,  Shee,  Anthony 
Wayne,  and  Magaw  ;  three  provincial  battalions,  under 
Colonels  Miles,  Cadwallader,  and  Atlee,  and  rifle  regi- 
ments, under  Colonels  Hand  and  Allen.  These  were  all 
commanded  by  Brigadier-general  Mifflin,  of  that  State. 
,  Virginia  sent  troops  under  Major  Leitch,  and  from 
Maryland  came  the  brave  company  known  as  Smallwood's 
regiment,  who  afterward  distinguished  themselves  in  many 
conflicts,  while  from  Delaware  came  a  regiment  under 
Colonel  Hazlet.  In  addition  to  -these,  Pennsylvania, 


JEALOUSIES   AMONG   THE   TROOPS.  373 


Maryland,  and  Delaware,  furnished  troops  to  form  what 
was  called  "  a  flying  camp/'  a  sort  of  reserve,  stationed 
in  New  Jersey/  in  a  favorable  position,  and  ready  to  act    1776. 
in  emergencies.    This  was  under  Brigadier-general  Mercer. 

In  the  troops  thus  drawn  together  from  different  parts 
of  the  country,  there  were  marked  differences  in  appear- 
ance and  discipline.  The  New  England  officers  were  most 
of  them  farmers  and  mechanics  —  brave,  honorable,  but 
plain  men.  Their  soldiers  were  men  of  the  same  stamp  ; 
in  many  cases  their  intimates  and  associates  in  private 
life.  Their  intercourse  with  each  other  was  less  formal 
than  was  consistent  with  strict  military  discipline.  They 
met  not  as  mere  soldiers,  but  as  a  band  of  brethren,  united 
in  a  cause  in  which  each  had  a  personal  interest.  With 
the  portion  of  the  army  drawn  from  the  other  States,  the 
case  was  different  ;  with  them,  there  was  a  marked  dis- 
tinction between  the  officers  and  soldiers.  The  officers  were 
brave  and  honorable  also,  but  city  bred  —  "  gentlemen/' 
as  they  called  themselves  —  and  from  wealthy  families, 
while  the  "  common  soldiers,  for  the  most  part,  were  a 
very  inferior  set."  Sectional  jealousies  arose.  The  Mary- 
landers,  in  "  scarlet  and  buff,"  looked  down  upon  the 
rustic  soldiery  in  "  homespun/'  while  the  officers  of  the 
other  provinces  were  inclined  to  despise  their  associates 
from  New  England.  These  jealousies  became  so  great  an 
evil,  that  Washington  strongly  reprobated  them  in  general 
orders. 

As  the  British  were  masters  of  the  bay  of  New  York, 
it  was  feared  they  would  surround  the  American  army  in 
the  city,  and  take  possession  of  the  Hudson,  that  great 
highway  to  the  interior.  To  prevent  this,  General  Mifflin 
was  sent  with  the  Pennsylvania  troops  to  guard  the  forts 
at  the  north  end  of  the  island.  One  of  these  stood  just 
below,  the  other  just  above  Kingsbridge,  the  only  avenue 
to  the  mainland  ;  they  were  known  as  Forts  Washington 
and  Independence.  On  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson, 


372  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

4^ 

CHAP,  nearly  opposite  Fort  Washington,  stood  Fort  Lee.     Near 

the  entrance  to  the  Highlands,  and  just  opposite  the  well- 

1776.  known  promontory  of  Anthony's  Nose,  was  Fort  Mont- 
gomery. Six  miles  higher  up  the  river  was  Fort  Consti- 
tution. 

The  posts  last  named  were  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  James  Clinton.  His  brother  George  commanded 
the  militia  of  Ulster  and  Orange  counties.  These  brothers 
were  of  Irish  descent,  natives  of  New  York,  and  their 
ancestors  were  identified  with  the  early  settlements  on 
the  Hudson.  They  had  been  soldiers  from  their  youth — 
like  many  of  the  Eevolutionary  officers — they  had  been 
trained  in  the  French  war,  in  which  one  of  them  had 
served  as  a  captain  at  twenty,  and  the  other  as  a  lieuten- 
ant at  seventeen  years  of  age.  The  elder,  James,  had 
also  served  under  Montgomery  at  the  capture  of  Montreal, 
while  George  had  been  active  in  the  service  of  his  country 
as  a  member  of  the  New  York  Legislature,  and  as  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Continental  Congress. 

In  spite  of  obstructions  thrown  across  the  channel,  two 
British  vessels,  the  Phoenix  and  the  Kose,  passed  up  the 
Hudson.  The  latter  was  commanded  by  the  notorious 
Captain  Wallace,  who  had  pillaged  the  shores  of  Ehode 
Island.  They  passed  the  forts  unharmed,  and  gallantly 
returned  the  fire  from  Fort  Washington.  As  they  boldly 
pushed  their  way  up  the  river,  their  appearance  created 
great  alarm.  Signal  guns  were  heard  from  the  forts,  and 
July  false  rumors  increased  the  general  excitement.  The  sturdy 
12t  yeomanry  left  their  harvests  uncut  in  their  fields,  and  has- 
tened to  join  the  forces  under  Clinton  to  defend  the  passes 
of  the  Highlands.  These  fears  were  in  a  great  measure 
groundless.  The  vessels  quietly  anchored  here  and  there, 
while  their  boats  toojk  soundings  ;  but  the  event  proved  the 
inefficiency  of  the  defences  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson. 

The  Americans,  from  the  Jersey  shore  and  the  city, 


THE    BKITISH    LAND    ON   LONG   ISLAND.  373 

continued  to  watch,  with  intense  interest,  the  movements    CHAP. 

of  the  enemy  on  Staten  Island.     A  spy  reported  that  they  1 

were  about  to  land  on  Long  Island,  with  twenty  thousand    1Y76. 
men,  and  take  possession  of  the   Heights,  which   com- 
manded New  York ;  he  had  heard  the  orders  read,  and 
the  conversation  of  the  officers  in  the  camp.     The  next    Aug. 
day  the  roar  of  artillery  was  heard  from  Long  Island,  and      22> 
soon  the  news  reached  the  city  that  the  enemy  had  landed 
at  Gravesend  Bay. 

General  Greene  had  thrown  up  a  line  of  intrenchments 
and  redoubts  across  the  neck  of  the  peninsula  upon  which 
stood  the  village  of  Brooklyn.  He  had  made  himself  ac- 
quainted with  the  ground  in  the  neighborhood,  and  nearly 
completed  his  plans  for  defence,  when  he  wp,s  suddenly 
taken  ill  with  a  raging  fever.  He  was  still  unable  to  be 
at  his  post,  and  Sullivan  held  the  temporary  command. 

Between  the  American  intrenchments  and  Gravesend 
Bay  lay  a  range  of  thickly-wooded  hills,  that  stretched 
across  the  island  from  south-west  to  north-east.  Over 
and  around  these  hills  were  three  roads  :  one  along  the 
shore  passed  around  their  south-western  base  ;  another 
crossed  over  their  centre  toward  Flatbush  ;  while  a  third, 
which  was  near  the  north-east  extremity  of  the  range, 
passed  over  them  from  the  village  of  Bedford  to  Jamaica. 

Nine  thousand  of  the  British  had  already  landed  at 
Gravesend,  under  the  command  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and 
his  associates,  the  Earls  of  Cornwallis  and  Percy,  and  Gen- 
erals Grant  and  Erskine.  Colonel  Hand,  who  was  sta- 
tioned there,  retired  on  their  approach  to  a  position  that 
commanded  the  central  or  Flatbush  road.  The  British 
continued  to  land  more  forces  secretly  in  the  night  time, 
but  for  several  days  nothing  occurred,  except  skirmishing 
between  the  enemy  and  the  troops  at  the  outposts,  along 
the  wooded  hills. 

At  the  first  alarm,  the  Commander-in-chief  had  hast- 
ened to  send  to  the  aid  of  Sullivan  a  reinforcement  of  six 


374  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

Cxxx'   Battalions, — aH  he  could  well  spare.     He  exhorted  these 

soldiers  to  be  cool,  and  not  to  fire  too  soon.     They  ap- 

1776.    peared  in  high  spirits,  though  most  of  them  were  going 

into  battle  for  the  first  time. 

Aug.  On  the  twenty-fourth,  Washington,  somewhat  relieved 
from  his  apprehensions  with  regard  to  the  city,  crossed 
over  to  Brooklyn  to  inspect  the  lines.  He  was  pained  to 
observe  a  great  want  of  system  among  the  officers,  and  of 
discipline  among  the  soldiers.  A  strong  redoubt  had  been 
thrown  up  at  the  central  pass,  but  the  plans  for  defence 
were  imperfect,  and  affairs  in  much  confusion. 

On  his  return,  he  appointed  General  Putnam  to  the 
command,  with  orders  to  remedy  these  evils.  The  "  brave 
old  man  "  hastened  with  joy  to  the  post  of  danger. 

From  day  to  day  the  number  of  tents  on  Staten  Island 
became  gradually  less,  and  one  by  one  ships  dropped 
silently  down  to  the  narrows.  Washington  became  con- 
-  vinced  that  the  British  designed  to  attack  the  lines  at 
Brooklyn.  He  sent  over  further  reinforcements,  among 
which  was  Haslet's  Delaware  regiment — troops  whose  sol- 
dierly bearing  and  discipline  had  won  his  special  regard. 

He  proceeded  in  person  to  aid  Putnam  with  his  coun- 
sel. On  the  evening  of  the  twenty-sixth  he  returned  to 
New  York,  perplexed  and  depressed,  for  a  dark  cloud  of 
uncertainty  and  danger  hung  over  the  future. 

His  fears  were  soon  realized.  On  that  very  evening 
the  British  proceeded  to  carry  out  their  plan  of  attack. 
By  this  plan,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  to  march  along  by- 
paths across  to  the  eastern  or  Jamaica  road,  to  seize  the 
pass  in  the  Bedford  hills,  thence  proceed  onward,  and  turn 
the  left  flank  of  the  Americans  ;  General  Grant  was  to 
pass  along  the  shore-road,  and  attack  them  on  the  right, 
while  General  De  Heister,  with  his  Hessians,  was  to 
threaten  the  central  pass,  where  Colonel  Hand  was  sta- 
tioned with  his  riflemen. 

At  nine  o'clock,  Sir  Henry,  guided  by  a  Long  Island 


v 


BATTLE    OF   LONG   ISLAND.  375 

Tory,  commenced  his  march  toward  the  eastern  road  ;  CHAP. 
about  midnight,  Colonel  Grant's  division  mo.ved  in  an  op-  L 


posite  direction,  along  the  western  or  shore-road.  Colonel  1776. 
Atlee,  who  was  stationed  there  with  a  small  company  of 
militia,  was  driven  back  from  point  to  point.  News  of 
Grant's  approach  soon  reached  General  Putnam.  Lord 
Stirling,  with  Smallwood's  and  Haslet's  regiments,  were 
sent  to  the  relief  of  Colonel  Atlee.  About  daylight  they 
came  up  with  him,  and  soon  the  front  of  the  approaching 
enemy  appeared  in  view. 

Presently  the  redoubt  at  the  central  pass  was  cannon- 
aded from  Flatbush.  This  firing  attracted  the  attention 
of  Sullivan,  who  went  to  the  relief  of  Colonel  Hand. 

Thus  the  object  of  the  British  was  in  part  accom- 
plished. The  attention  of  the  Americans  was  diverted, 
their  troops  were  scattered  beyond  the  lines  ;  silently  and 
rapidly  the  forces  of  Clinton  were  moving  on  to  cut  off 
their  return.  He  had  found  the  eastern  pass  unguarded,  A 
and  continued  his  march  undiscovered,  and  now  signal- 
guns  announced  that  he  was  close  upon  the  American 
lines.  The  Hessians  advanced  at  once  upon  the  redoubt. 
Colonel  Grant  pushed  on.  Sullivan  and  Stirling  both 
perceived  their  danger,  and  endeavored  to  retreat,  but  in 
vain.  The  enemy  had  gained  their  rear  ;  they  were  com- 
pletely entrapped  and  hemmed  in.  It  is  true,  a  portion 
of  Stirling's  troops  escaped  by  fording  a  creek ;  the  re- 
mainder, most  of  whom  were  of  Smallwood's  regiment, 
took  a  brave  but  desperate  stand.  A  scene  of  carnage 
ensued  ;  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  them  were 
slain  within  sight  of  the  lines.  Some  of  these  were  most 
cruelly  and  wantonly  bayoneted  by  the  merciless  Hessians. 
At  length  Stirling  sought  De  Heister  and  surrendered. 
Sullivan's  forces  were  driven  back  and  forth  by  the  two 
divisions  of  the  enemy,  and  treated  in  a  like  barbarous 
manner  ;  some  were  taken  prisoners,  among  whom  was 
Sullivan  himself ;  others  fought  their  way  back  to  the 


376  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   lines.     Some  portion  of  this  conflict  took  place  amid  the 

1  hills  now  embraced  in  the  beautiful  cemetery  of  Green- 

1776.    wood. 

Washington  reached  the  spot  just  in  time  to  witness 
the  catastrophe.  As  from  the  lines  he  saw  his  brave 
troops  surrounded  and  cruelly  slaughtered — touched  to 
the  heart  with  deep  and  humane  sorrow,  he  wrung  his 
hands  and  exclaimed  :  "  Good  God  !  what  brave  fellows 
I  must  lose  this  day  !  " 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  this  battle  was  very  se- 
vere ;  of  the  five  thousand  engaged,  nearly  two  thousand 
were  slain  or  taken  prisoners,  while  out  of  sixteen  thou- 
sand the  British  lost  but  about  four  hundred.  They  made 
no  assault  on  the  American  lines,  but  encamped  directly 
in  front  of  them,  and  prepared  to  carry  them  by  regular 
approaches. 

Although  reinforced  the  next  day,  by  Mifflin's  and 
Glover's  regiments,  the  Americans  had  still  a  very  inferior 
^  force.  On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-ninth,  as  General 
Mifflin,  with  Adjutant-general  Keed  and  Colonel  Grayson, 
was  inspecting  the  outposts  at  Ked  Hook,  a  light  breeze, 
that  dispersed  the  fog  for  a  moment,  revealed  to  them  the 
enemy's  fleet.  They  were  justly  alarmed  ;  the  unusual 
stir  among  the  boats  convinced  them  that  some  great 
movement  was  on  foot.  It  was  probable  the  enemy  in- 
tended to  pass  up  the  bay  and  surround  them.  They  hast- 
ened to  Washington,  who  summoned  a  council  of  war, 
and  it  was  decided  that  the  army  should  that  night  be 
secretly  withdrawn  from  the  island.  It  was  a  hazardous 
enterprise,  and  much  was  to  be  done  ;  boats  were  to  be 
collected,  and  preparations  for  the  removal  of  nine  thou- 
sand men  were  to  be  made,  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  rap- 
idly, and  yet  so  silently  and  cautiously,  as  not  to  awaken 
the  slightest  suspicion.  It  was  already  noon,  but  the  or- 
ders were  issued,  and  all  the  boats  around  Manhattan 
Island  were  impressed  and  in  readiness  at  eight  o'clock 


THE    RETREAT  -  INCIDENTS.  377 

that  evening.     And  at  the  silent  midnight  hour  the  regi-  CHAP, 
ments,  one  by  one,  began  to  march  to  the  ferry,  and  in  - 
boats  manned  by  Glover's  regiment,  most  of  whom  were    1776. 
Marblehead  fishermen,  they  were  borne  to  the  city.     By 
eight  o'clock  the  entire  army,  with  their  military  stores, 
cattle,  horses,  and  carts,  were  safely  landed. 

Several  incidents  occurred,  which  have  a  peculiar  in- 
terest as  connected  with  this  famous  retreat.  General 
Mifflin,  who  was  stationed  nearest  to  the  enemy's  lines, 
was  to  remain  at  his  post  until  the  others  had  embarked. 
Colonel  Scammell,  who  was  sent  to  hasten  forward  a  par- 
ticular regiment,  mistook  his  orders,  and  sent  on  Mifflin 
with  his  whole  covering  party  ;  and  great  was  the  conster- 
nation of  the  Commander-in-chief  when  they  joined  the 
others  at  the  ferry.  "  This  is  a  dreadful  mistake,  General 
Mifflin,"  said  he,  "  and  unless  the  troops  can  regain  the 
lines  before  their  absence  is  discovered  by  the  enemy,  the 
most  disastrous  consequences  are  to  be  apprehended." 
They  returned  to  their  post  with  all  expedition.  "  This 
was  a  trying  business  to  young  soldiers,"  says  one  of  their 
number,  "  it  was,  nevertheless,  strictly  complied  with,  and 
we  remained  not  less  than  an  hour  in  the  lines  before  we 
received  the  second  order  to  abandon  them."  l 

A  story  is  told  of  a  woman,  wife  of  a  suspected  Tory, 
who  lived  near  the  ferry.  She  sent  her  negro  servant  to 
the  British  with  news  that  the  Americans  were  retreating. 
He  reached  the  Hessian  outposts  in  safety,  but  they  did 
not  understand  his  language,  and  detained  him  a  close 
prisoner  till  morning.  Then  an  English  officer,  who  exam- 
ined him,  learned  the  truth,  but  it  was  too  late.  The 
British  did  not  reach  the  ferry  till  the  last  boat  was  be- 
yond musket  shot.  It  was  an  August  morning  ;  but  for  Aug. 
a  dense  fog,  the  boats  which  left  after  daylight  must  have 
been  discovered.  The  safe  retreat  of  the  patriot  army 


(•  Graydon's  Memoirs. 


*  * 

«« 


378  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


was  by  many  attributed  to  a  peculiar  Providence.  It  was 

a  trust  in  this  Providence,  a  calm  assurance  of  ultimate 

1776.  success  under  its  guiding  care,  that  strengthened  the 

hearts  of  the  patriots  in  their  darkest  hour  of  trial. 

A  few  days  after  this  retreat,  Admiral  Howe,  who 
hoped  the  Americans  would  now  accept  peace  on  his 
terms,  sent  General  Sullivan  on  parole  with  a  letter  to 
Congress.  He  invited  them  to  send,  in  an  informal  man- 
ner, a  committee  to  confer  with  him  on  some  measures  of 
reconciliation.  He  would  receive  them  as  private  gentle- 
men, as  the  ministry  would  not  acknowledge  the  legal  ex- 
istence of  Congress.  Accordingly,  John  Adams,  Doctor 
Franklin,  and  Edward  Kutledge,  held  a  conference  with 
him  at  a  house  on  Staten  Island,  opposite  Amboy. 

Doctor  Franklin  and  Lord  Howe  had  often  conversed 
together  in  England  on-  the  present  difficulties.  His  lord- 
ship made  known  the  terms  on  which  peace  could  be  ob- 
£  tained.  These  terms  were  unconditional  submission.  When 
told  that  the  Congress  and  people  would  treat  on  no  other 
basis  than  that  "  of  a  free  and  independent  nation,"  he 
expressed  regret,  that  he  should  be  compelled  to  dis- 
tress the  Americans.  Doctor  Franklin  reciprocated  his 
good  will,  but  quietly  remarked,  "The  Americans  will 
endeavor  to  lessen  the  pain  you  may  feel,  by  taking  good 
care  of  themselves."  Thus  ended  the  much  talked-of  in- 
terview. The  result  was  good.  The  people  were  strength- 
ened in  the  belief  that  England  had  no  terms  to  offer, 
which  would  lead  them  to  regret  the  course  they  had 
adopted. 

The  British,  now  in  possession  of  Long  Island,  ex- 
tended their  lines  along  the  East  Kiver,  and  stationed  in 
them  a  large  number  of  Hessian  troops,  of  whom  reinforce- 
ments had  come  within  a  few  days.  The  defeat  at  Brook- 
lyn had  a  very  disheartening  effect  on  the  minds  of  the 
militia,  great  numbers  of  whom  deserted,  and  soon  Wash- 


DISPOSITION    OF    THE    TROOPS  -  NATHAN    HALE.  379 


ington's  army  was  less  than  twenty  thousand  men,  and  on 
many  of  these  little  dependence  could  'tie  placed.  The 
question  soon  arose,  Should  New  York  be  defended  to  the  1776. 
last,  or  should  it  be  evacuated  ?  Some  proposed  to  burn 
it  to  the  ground,  as  "  two-thirds  of  the  property  belonged 
to  Tories,"  rather  than  it  should  furnish  comfortable  win- 

9 

ter-quarters  for  the  enemy.  Congress  decided  that  the 
city  should  not  be  burned. 

The  sick  and  wounded,  in  the  meanwhile,  were  trans- 
ferred to  Orange,  in  New  Jersey,  and  most  of  the  military 
stores  were  removed  to  Dobbs'  Ferry,  that  the  garrison 
might  be  unencumbered  should  they  be  obliged  to  make  a 
hasty  retreat.  It  was  decided  by  a  council  of  war  that 
Putnam,  with  five  thousand  troops,  should  remain  to  gar- 
rison New  York,  while  General  Heath,  with  the  main  body, 
was  to  fortify  the  heights  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kings- 
bridge,  where,  presently,  Washington  transferred  his  head- 
quarters. 

Washington  was  anxious  to  learn  the  designs  of  the  ene- 
my on  Long  Island.  At  the  suggestion  of  Colonel  Knowl- 
ton,  Nathan  Hale  volunteered  to  go  on  the  perilous  errand. 
Hale  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  a  graduate  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, had  thoughts  of  studying  for  the  ministry,  and  at  the 
commencement  of  the  war  was  a  teacher  of  youth.  After 
the  battle  of  Lexington,  he  hastened  to  Boston  to  join  the 
army,  in  which  he  served  as  a  lieutenant.  On  one  occa- 
sion, to  induce  his  men  to  continue  their  term  of  .enlist- 
ment, he  offered  them  his  own  pay.  Soon  after  he  received 
from  Congress  the  commission  of  captain. 

He  passed  to  the  island,  obtained  the  knowledge  de- 
sired, notes  of  which  he  took  in  Latin.  As  he  was  return- 
ing he  fell  in  with  a  party  of  the  enemy,  was  recognized 
by  a  Tory  relative,  seized  and  taken  to  Howe's  head- 
quarters, and,  without  much  ceremony,  was  ordered  to  be 
executed  the  next  morning. 

The    provost-marshal,  named    Cunningham,  treated 

* 


380  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CH^P.  him  with  great  brutality,  denied  him  a  Bible,  tore  up  the 

letter  he  had  written  to  his  mother,  giving  as  a  reason, 

1776.  "  that  the  rebels  should  never  know  they  had  a  man  who 
could  die  with  such  firmness."  The  last  words  of  Hale 
were  :  "  I  only  regret  that  I  have  but  one  life  to  lose  for 
my  country." 

The  entire  British  fleet  was  within  cannon-shot  of  the 
city,  and  some  of  their  vessels  had  passed  up  the  Hudson 
and  East  rivers.  They  had  landed  troops  on  the  islands 
at  the  mouth  of  Harlem  river,  and  there  erected  a  bat- 
tery. Soon  British  and  Hessians,  under  Clinton  and  Colo- 
nel Donop,  crossed  over  from  the  camp  on  Long  Island 
to  Kipp's  Bay,  three  miles  above  the  city.  Washington 
heard  the  cannonading  in  that  quarter,  and,  as  he  was  on 
the  way  to  learn  the  cause,  met  the  militia,  who,  on  the 
first  approach  of  the  enemy  had  fled  in  sad  confusion,  fol- 
lowed by  two  brigades  of  Connecticut  troops,  who  that 
very  morning  had  been  sent  to  support  them.  He  strove 
to  rally  them,  but  in  vain  ;  neither  entreaties  nor  com- 
mands had  any  effect  upon  these  panic-stricken  soldiers. 
Mortified  and  indignant  at  their  cowardice,  he  dashed  his 
hat  upon  the  ground,  and  exclaimed  :  "  Are  these  the 
men  with  whom  I  am  to  defend  America  ?  "  The  enemy 
in  pursuit  were  now  not  more  than  eighty  yards  from  him, 
but  in  his  excitement  he  forgot  his  own  safety,  and  had 
g  not  an  attendant  seized  the  bridle  of  his  horse  and  hurried 
15. '  him  from  the  field,  he  must  have  fallen  into  their  hands. 

Washington  ordered  General  Heath  to  secure  Harlem 
Heights,  and  sent  an  express  order  to  Putnam  to  evacuate 
the  city,  and  retire  to  those  heights  with  all  speed  ;  for  he 
feared  that  the  enemy  would  extend  their  lines  across  the 
island  from  Kipp's  Bay,  and  cut  off  his  retreat.  Fortu- 
nately the  British  did  not  pursue  their  advantage.  Put- 
nam retreated  along  the  west  side  of  the  island  by  the 
Bloomingdale  road.  His  line,  encumbered  with  women  and 
children,  was  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  ships  lying  in  the 

*  *        >'  •" 


V 


A   SUCCESSFUL    SKIRMISH.  381 

Hudson.     He  ordered,  encouraged,  and  aided,  and  by  his 
extraordinary  exertions,  it  is  said,  saved  his    corps  from 
entire  destruction.    However,  his  heavy  artillery  and  three    1776. 
hundred  men  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy 

Now  the  British  had  possession  of  the  city,  and  the 
main  body  of  the  Americans  was  encamped  on  the  northern 
portion  of  the  island,  across  which  they  threw  a  double 
row  of  lines,  about  four  and  a  half  miles  below  Kings- 
bridge.  Two  miles  above  these  lines,  was  Fort  Washing- 
ton, and  a  few  miles  below  them  were  the  British  lines, 
extending  also  from  river  to  river. 

On  the  sixteenth  the  enemy  made  an  attack  upon  the  Sept. 
American  advanced  posts,  but  were  repulsed  and  driven 
off  by  Virginia  and  Connecticut  troops,  but  their  com- 
manders, Major  Leitch,  and  the  brave  Colonel  Knowlton, 
one  of  the  heroes  of  Bunker  Hill,  both  fell  in  this  en- 
counter. The  spirits  of  the  soldiers,  depressed  by  repeated 
defeats  and  disasters,  were  somewhat  revived  by  this  suc- 
cessful skirmish. 

The  armies  watched  each  other  for  some  weeks.  Many 
were  sick  in  the  American  camp  ;  "it  was  impossible  to 
find  proper  hospitals  ;  and  they  lay  about  in  almost  every 
barn,  stable,  shed,  and  even  under  the  fences  and  bushes." 

Sir  William  Howe  now  began  to  collect  forces  at 
Throg's  Neck,  a  peninsula  in  the  Sound  about  nine  miles 
from  the  American  camp.  This  peninsula  was  separated 
from  the  mainland  by  a  narrow  creek  and  a  marsh,  which 
was  overflowed  at  high  tide.  By  means  of  the  bridge  and 
fords,  Howe  hoped  to  pass  over  to  the  mainland  and  gain  «  ^-. 
the  rear  of  the  Americans,  and  cut  off  their  communica- 
tion with  New  England,  whence  they  received  most  of 
their  supplies.  His  plans,  though  well  laid,  were  defeated. 
General  Heath  was  on  the  alert ;  he  was  joined  by  Colonel 
William  Prescott,  who  commanded  at  Bunker  Hill,  and 
by  Hand  with  his  riflemen,  and  others  ;  every  pass  was 
guarded,  and  the  planks  of  the  bridge  removed.  Howe, 

*  .         * 


# 

382  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   with  his  usual  caution,  waited  six  days  for  reinforcements. 

1  By  this  time  General  Lee,  now  more  a  favorite  than  ever, 

1776.    had  returned  from  his  successful  campaign  at  the  South, 

and  Sullivan,  Stirling,  and  Morgan  had  been  restored  to 

the  army  by  exchange.    While  Howe  thus  delayed,  it  was 

decided,  in  a  council  of  war,  that  every  American  post  on 

New  York  island,  excepting  Fort  Washington,  should  be 

abandoned.      This   plan   was   promptly  executed.      The 

army,  in  four  divisions,  commanded   by  Generals   Lee, 

Heath,  Sullivan,  and  Lincoln,  withdrew   across   Kings- 

Q  ,      bridge,  and  gradually  concentrated  their  forces  in  a  forti- 

23.     fied  camp  near  the  village  of  White  Plains. 

Still  hoping  to  gain  their  rear,  Howe  moved  on  toward 
New  Kochelle,  where  he  was  reinforced  by  light-horse 
troops,  and  Hessians  under  General  Knyphausen,  who 
had  recently  arrived  from  Europe.  He  advanced  upon 
the  camp.  Scarcely  had  the  Americans  intrenched  them- 
selves at  White  Plains,  when  a  rumor  of  his  approach 
reached  them.  On  the  twenty-eighth,  as  Washington, 
accompanied  by  his  general  officers,  was  reconnoitring  the 
heights  in  the  neighborhood,  the  alarm  was  given  that  the 
enemy  had  driven  in  the  picket-guards,  and  were  within 
the  camp.  When  he  reached  headquarters  he  found  the 
army  already  posted  in  order  of  battle.  The  enemy  did 
not  advance  upon  them  ;  they  turned  their  attention  to  a 
height  known  as  Chatterton's  Hill,  which  lay  a  little  south 
of  the  camp,  and  was  separated  from  it  by  the  river  Bronx. 
This  height  was  occupied  by  sixteen  hundred  men  under 
General  McDougall,  and  the  attack  was  made  at  this 
point.  After  a  feeble  resistance,  the  militia  fled,  but 
Hazlet's  and  Smallwood's  regiments,  so  famous  on  Long 
Island,  made  a  brave  stand,  and  repeatedly  repulsed  the 
enemy  ;  but,  at  length,  overpowered  by  numbers,  they 
retreated  across  the  bridge  to  the  camp.  This  battle  of 


A    NIGHT    OF    LABOR THREATENED   DANGERS.  383 

White  Plains  was  a  spirited  encounter,  in  which  each  of   CHAP 
the  parties  lost  about  four  hundred  men. 

The  British  took  possession  of  the  hill,  and  began  to    1776. 
intrench  themselves  ;  and  now,  for  the  third  time,  the 
"  armies  lay  looking  at  each  other ; "  they  were  within 
long  cannon-shot. 

Could  the  undisciplined,  war-worn,  and  disheartened 
Americans  hope  to  escape  from  a  force  so  well  equipped 
and  so  powerful  ?  That  night  was  to  them  an  anxious 
one.  It  was  passed  in  severe  labor  ;  they  doubled  their  in- 
trenchments  and  threw  up  redoubts.  Some  of  these  were 
hastily  constructed  of  stalks  of  corn,  pulled  up  from  a  neigh- 
boring field,  with  the  earth  clinging  to  the  roots.  These 
piled  with  the  roots  outward,  presented  an  appearance  so 
formidable,  that  Howe,  deceived  as  to  their  strength,  did 
not  attack  them,  but  ordered  up  reinforcements. 

Howe's  cautious  conduct  of  the  war  has  been  severely 
criticised,  and  various  reasons  have  been  assigned,  but  it 
has  never  been  satisfactorily  explained  ;  whatever  his 
reasons  may  have  been,  his  delay  at  this  time  cost  him 
another  golden  opportunity.  Washington  withdrew  his 
army  in  the  night-time  to  the  heights  of  North  Castle,  a 
strong  position,  about  five  miles  distant.  His  enemy  had 
again  eluded  him,  and  Howe  retired  with  his  forces  to 
Dobb's  Ferry,  on  the  Hudson. 

This  movement  awakened  new  fears  ; — did  he  intend 
to  pass  down  the  river  to  Fort  Washington,  or  to  cross 
into  New  Jersey  ?  "He  must  attempt  something," 
writes  Washington,  "  on  account  of  his  reputation,  for 
what  has  he  done  yet  with  his  great  army  ?  " 

To  meet  the  threatened  dangers  a  new  disposition  was 
made  of  the  American  forces.  Lee,  with  a  portion,  was  to 
remain  at  North  Castle  ;  Putnam,  with  another,  was  to 
guard  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson  ;  Heath,  the  guardian 
of  the  passes  of  the  Highlands,  was  to  encamp  at  Peeks- 
kill  ;  while  General  Greene  commanded  at  Fort  Lee,  and 


384  HISTOEY  OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

°xxx'    ^°lonel  Magaw,  with  the  Pennsylvania   troops,  occupied 

Fort  Washington. 

1776.  With  respect  to  maintaining  Fort  Washington,  there 
was  at  'diversity  of  opinion,  as  neither  that  fort  nor  the  ob- 
structions across  the  channel  had  prevented  the  passage 
of  vessels  up  the  Hudson.  Washington,  with  Lee,  Keed, 
and  others,  was  in  favor  of  withdrawing  the  troops  at  once. 
He  addressed  a  letter  to  Greene,  in  which  he  advised  this 
course,  but  left  the  matter  to  his  discretion.  Grreene  and 
Magaw,  who  were  both  on  the  spot,  and  knew  the  condi- 
tion of  the  fort,  decided  that  it  could  be  maintained,  and 
made  preparations  accordingly.  This  was,  as  the  result 
proved,  an  injudicious  decision.  The  post  was  compara- 
tively useless ;  it  was  accessible  on  three  sides  from  the 
water  ;  the  fort  was  very  small,  and  would  not  contain 
more  than  a  thousand  men,  the  lines  were  very  extensive, 
and  the  garrison  insufficient  to  man  them. 

Washington  visited  the  posts  along  the  river.  When 
he  arrived  at  Fort  Lee,  he  was  greatly  disappointed  to  find 
that  the  troops  had  not  been  withdrawn  from  Fort  Wash- 
ington ;  and,  before  he  could  make  a  personal  examina- 
tion, the  fort  was  invested.  It  was  attacked  on  all  sides. 
The  garrison,  after  a  brave  resistance,  which  cost  the  ene- 
my  four  hundred  men,  was  driven  from  the  outer  lines, 
and  crowded  into  the  fort,  where  they  were  unable  to  fight 
to  advantage,  and  were  exposed  to  the  shells  of  the  enemy. 
Further  resistance  was  impossible,  and  Colonel  Magaw 
surrendered  all  his  troops,  two  thousand  in  number.  Dur- 
ing this  action,  the  troops  of  Cadwallader  especially  dis- 
tinguished themselves.  Of  the  officers,  Colonel  Baxter, 
of  Pennsylvania,  fell  while  cheering  on  his  men. 

From  the  New  Jersey  shore,  the  Commander-in-chief 
witnessed  a  portion  of  the  battle,  and  again  he  saw  some 
of  his  brave  troops  bayoneted  by  the  merciless  Hessians, 
and  wept,  it  is  said,  "  with  the  tenderness  of  a  child." 
It  was  resolved  to  abandon  Fort  Lee,  but  before  it 


THE    RETREAT.  385 

was  fully  accomplished,  Cornwallis,  with  a  force  six  thou-  CHAP. 

sand  strong,  crossed  the  Hudson  to  the  fpot  of  the  rocky  '_ 

cliffs  known  as  the  Palisades.  The  force  sent  clown  from  1776. 
North  Castle  was  encamped  at  Hackensack,  which  lay  be- 
tween the  river  of  that  name  and  the  Hudson,  and  Wash- 
ington saw  at  once  that  the  object  of  the  enemy  was  to 
form  a  line  across  the  country,  and  hem  them  in  between 
the  rivers.  To  avoid  this  he  retreated,  with  all  his  forces, 
including  the  garrison  of  Fort  Lee,  to  secure  the  bridge 
over  the  Hackensack,  thence  across  the  Passaic  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Newark.  This  retreat  was  made  in  such 
haste  that  nearly  all  the  artillery  was  abandoned,  the  tents 
left  standing,  and  the  fires  burning.  That  night  the 
enemy  found  shelter  in  the  tents  of  the  deserted  camp. 

From  Newark,  the  army  moved  on  across  the  Earitan 
to  Brunswick,  thence  to  Princeton,  where  they  left  twelve 
hundred  men,  under  Lord  Stirling,  to  check  the  enemy, 
while  the  main  body  proceeded  to  Trenton,  and  thence  be- 
yond the  Delaware.  The  enemy  pressed  so  closely  upon 
them,  that  the  advance  of  Cornwallis  entered  Newark  at 
one  end,  as  their  rear-guard  passed  out  at  the  other,  and 
often  during  this  march,  "  the  American  rear-guard,  em- 
ployed in  pulling  up  bridges,  was  within  sight  and  shot  of 
the  British  pioneers,  sent  forward  to  rebuild  them/' 

Thus  less  than  four  thousand  men — a  mere  shadow 
of  an  army— poorly  clad,  with  a  scant  supply  of  blankets, 
without  tents,  and  enfeebled  for  want  of  wholesome  food, 
evaded,  by  an  orderly  retreat,  a  well  appointed  force  that 
far  outnumbered  them,  well  fed,  well  clothed,  well  disci- 
plined, and  flushed  with  victory.  When  the  enemy  reached 
the  Delaware,  they  were  unable  to  cross  over,  not  a  boat 
was  to  be  found  ;  Washington  had  taken  the  precaution  to 
have  them  all  secured  for  a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  and 
transferred  to  the  west  side.  Thus  ended  this  famous  re- 
treat, remarkable  for  the  manner  in  which  it  was  con- 
ducted, and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  took  place. 
25 


386  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

°xxx>'  Cornwallis  was  anxious  to  procure  boats  and  push  on 

to  Philadelphia,  but  Howe  decided  to  wait  till  the  river 

1776.  should  be  frozen.  Meanwhile,  the  Hessians  were  stationed 

along  the  eastern  bank  for  some  miles  above  and  below 

Trenton. 

During  his  harassed  march,  Washington  had  sent  re- 
peated and  urgent  orders  to  Lee  to  hasten  to  his  aid  with 
reinforcements.  Notwithstanding  the  emergency,  which 
he  well  knew,  Lee  lingered  for  two  or  three  weeks  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Hudson,  and  when  actually  on  the  march, 
proceeded  so  slowly,  that  he  did  not  reach  Morristown 
until  the  eleventh  of  December. 

Lee  had  a  high  opinion  of  his  own  military  abilities, 
and  evidently  desired  an  independent  command.  The 
deference  which  the  Americans  had  paid  to  his  judgment, 
and  the  importance  they  attached  to  his  presence  in  the 
army,  had  flattered  his  natural  self-conceit  ;  his  success 
at  the  South,  and  the  correctness  of  his  views  in  relation 
to  Fort  Washington,  had  strengthened  his  influence  over 
them,  and  now,  in  this  time  of  depression  and  discourage- 
ment, he  hoped  by  some  brilliant  exploit  to  retrieve  the 
fortunes  of  the  army,  and  gain  more  glory  to  himself.  In 
this  mood  he  writes  :  "  I  am  going  into  the  Jerseys  for 
the  salvation  of  America."  And  again  :  "  I  am  in  hopes 
to  reconquer,  if  I  may  so  express  myself,  the  Jerseys  ; 
it  was  really  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  before  my  arri- 
val/' While  he  pondered  over  these  vain  projects,  he  dis- 
regarded the  authority  of  the  Commander-in-chief,  and, 
to  say  the  least,  subjected  him  to  cruel  inconvenience. 
We  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  Lee  was  untrue  to  the 
cause  he  had  embraced,  but  his  wayward  conduct,  at  this 
time  and  afterward,  has  diminished  the  grateful  respect 
with  which  Americans  would  have  cherished  his  memory. 


CHAPTEE  XXXI. 

«• 

THE  WAR  OP  THE  REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

Discouragements. — Effects  of  Howe's  Proclamation. — Affairs  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain. — Heroism  of  Arnold. — Carleton  retires  to  Canada. — Capture  of 
Lee. — Troops  from  the  Northern  Army. — Battle  of  Trenton. — Battle 
of  Princeton. — Death  of  Mercer. — Washington  retires  to  Morristown. — 
Cornwallis  in  his  Lines  at  Brunswick. — Encouragements. — Putnam  at 
Princeton. — Ill-treatment  of  American  Prisoners  ;  their  Exchange  un- 
der Negotiation. — Appointment  of  General  Officers. — Muhlenburg. — 
Wayne. — Conway. — Medical  Department. — The  Navy. — Marauding  Ex- 
peditions.— Peekskill. — Danbury. — Death  of  Wooster. — Retaliation  at 
Sag  Harbor. — Efforts  to  recruit  the  Army. — Schuyler  and  Gates. — The  * 
National  Flag. 

4f 

As  the  news  of  this  retreat  went  abroad,  the  friends  of  the  CHAP. 

XXXI 

cause  were  discouraged.    What  remained  of  the  army  was  '_ 

fast  wasting  away ;  their  enlistments  were  about  to  ex-  1776. 
pire,  and  the  militia,  especially  that  of  New  Jersey,  re- 
fused to  take  the  field  in  behalf  of  a  ruined  enterprise. 
Many  thought  the  States  could  not  maintain  their  inde- 
pendence ;  but  there  were  a  few  who,  confident  in  the 
justice  of  their  cause,  were  firm  and  undaunted.  Among 
these  was  Washington.  In  a  conversation  with  General 
Mercer  he  remarked  :  "  That  even  if  driven  beyond  the 
Alleghanies,  he  would  stand  to  the  last  for  the  liberties  of 
his  country." 

Howe  felt  certain  the  game  was  his  own  ;  he  had  only 
to  bide  his  time.     He  sent  forth  another  proclamation,  in 


388  HISTOEY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xxx?'  wnick  ne  called  upon  all  insurgents  to  disband,  and  Con- 

gress  to  lay  down  their  usurped  authority ;  and  offered 

1776.  parcbm  to  all  who  should  accept  the  terms  within  sixty 
days.  Many  persons,  most  of  whom  were  wealthy,  com- 
plied. Among  these  were  two  of  the  delegates  from  Penn- 
sylvania to  the  late  Continental  Congress,  and  the  presi- 
dent of  the  New  Jersey  Convention  which  had  sanctioned 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  others  who  had 
taken  an  active  part  in  favor  of  the  Kevolution.  For  ten 
days  after  the  proclamation  was  issued,  from  two  to  three 
hundred  came  every  day  to  take  the  required  oath. 

The  movements  of  the  enemy,  and  the  effect  produced 
by  the  proclamation,  caused  great  excitement  in  Phila- 
delphia. Putnam,  who  had  been  sent  to  command  there, 
advised  that,  during  this  season  of  peril,  Congress  should 
D  hold  its  sessions  elsewhere,  and  it  adjourned  to  meet  again 
12.'  at  Baltimore. 

At  this  time  a  reinforcement  of  seven  regiments  was 
on  its  way  from  Canada.  We  now  return  to  the  forces  on 
Lake  Champlain,  where  we  left  Schuyler  and  Gates  in  a 
sort  of  joint  command. 

The  army  driven  out  of  Canada,  broken,  diseased,  and 
dispirited,  rested  first  at  Crown  Point,  and  then  at  Ticon- 
deroga.  During  his  retreat,  Sullivan  wisely  secured  or 
destroyed  all  the  boats  on  Lake  Champlain.  Its  shores 
were  an  unbroken  wilderness  ;  thus  the  British  were  una- 
ble to  follow  up  their  pursuit  by  land  or  by  water. 

Sir  Guy  Carleton,  flushed  with  victory,  and  full  of 
ardor,  determined  to  overcome  all  obstacles  and  push  his 
*  victory  to  the  utmost.  He  would  obtain  the  command 
of  the  Lakes  Champlain  and  George,  and  by  that  means 
subdue  northern  New  York,  and  then  proceed  to  take 
possession  of  Albany,  where  he  hoped  to  take  up  his  win- 
ter-quarters. From  that  point,  he  hoped,  by  means  of 
the  Hudson,  to  co-operate  with  the  Howes  at  New  York, 
to  cut  off  the  communication  between  New  England  and 
W  * 


HEROISM    OF    ARNOLD.  389 

the  States  west  and  south.     This  he  believed  would  bring  CHAP. 

the  contest  to  a  speedy  close,  and  secure  to  himself  a  share  

of  the  honors  of  the  victory.  He  exerted  himself  with  so  1776. 
much  energy  and  success,  that  at  the  end  of  three  months 
he  had  a  well-equipped  fleet.  The  frames  of  five  large 
vessels,  that  had  been  brought  from  England,  were  put 
together  at  St.  John's  on  the  Sorel.  These,  with  twenty 
smaller  craft,  and  some  armed  boats,  which  had  been 
dragged  up  the  rapids  of  that  river,  were  now  launched 
upon  the  lake. 

The  Americans  were  not  idle.  General  Gates  author- 
ized Arnold,  who  was  somewhat  of  a  seaman,  to  fit  out 
and  command  a  flotilla.  Arnold  threw  himself  into  the 
enterprise  with  all  the  energy  of  his  nature,  and  soon  was 
master  of  a  force,  in  vessels  and  men,  nearly  half  as  large 
as  that  of  Carleton.  He  moved  his  little  fleet  across  a 
narrow  strait  between  Valcour  Island  and  the  mainland, 
in  such  a  position  that  the  whole  force  of  the  enemy  could 
not  be  made  to  bear  upon  him  at  one  time ;  there  he  awaited 
the  contest.  As  Carleton,  with  a  favorable  wind,  swept 
briskly  up  the  lake,  he  passed  the  island  behind  which 
Arnold's  flotilla  lay  snugly  anchored,  before  he  observed 
it.  The  wind  was  such  that  the  larger  ships  could  not 
beat  up  the  strait,  but  the  smaller  vessels  advanced,  and 
a  desperate  encounter  ensued,  which  was  continued  until 
evening  came  on.  Then  Carleton  arranged  his  squadron 
so  as  to  intercept  Arnold's  escape,  and  awaited  the  morn- 
ing ;  when,  if  his  larger  vessels  could  be  made  to  bear,  he 
felt  certain  of  the  prize.  The  night  proved  dark  and 
cloudy  ;  favored  by  this  circumstance,,  Arnold  slipped  by 
the  enemy,  and  at  daylight  was  some  miles  on  his  way  to 
Crown  Point.  But  as  most  of  his  vessels  were  in  bad  con- 
dition, they  could  make  but  little  headway ;  only  six 
reached  that  place  in  safety,  two  were  sunk,  and  the  oth- 
ers  were  overtaken  by  Carleton  a  few  miles  from  the  Point, 


390  HISTOEY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

xxxi'  w-^ere  one  was  captured  with  the  crew.     Arnold  fought 

desperately,  until   his   galley,  the    Congress,  was  cut  to 

1776.  pieces,  and  one-third  of  her  crew  killed.  Determined  that 
his  flag  should  not  be  struck,  he  ordered  his  vessels  to  be 
grounded  and  set  on  fire.  When  this  was  done,  he,  with 
his  men,  leaped  out  and  waded  to  the  shore,  and  by  well- 
directed  rifle-shots  kept  the  enemy  at  bay  till  the  vessels 
were  consumed,  and  with  them  the  still  waving  flag  ;  then 
giving  a  triumphant  cheer,  they  moved  off  through  the 
woods  to  Crown  Point,  where  they  found  the  remnant  of 
the  fleet.  They  stayed  only  to  destroy  the  houses  and  the 
stores  at  the  fort,  and  then  embarked  for  Ticonderoga. 
Before  the  enemy  arrived,  Gates,  who  commanded  at  that 
post,  had  so  strengthened  his  position  that  Carleton  decid- 
ed not  to  attack  it,  but  to  retire  to  Canada,  and  postpone 
his  wintering  in  Albany  to  some  future  day. 

As  the  forts  on  the  Lakes  were  safe  for  the  present, 
General  Schuyler  detached  the  seven  regiments,  of  which 
we  have  spoken,  to  the  relief  of  Washington.  When  Lee 
learned  that  three  of  these  regiments  were  at  Peekskill, 
he  ordered  them  to  join  him  at  Morristown.  The  remain- 
ing four,  under  General  Gates,  were  passing  through 
northern  New  Jersey  toward  Trenton. 

Gates  was  detained  by  a  severe  snow-storm,  and  un- 
certain as  to  the  exact  position  of  the  army,  he  sent  for- 
ward Major  Wilkinson  with  a  letter  to  Washington, 
stating  his  position,  and  asking  what  route  he  should  take 
to  the  camp.  Wilkinson  learned  that  Washington  had 
crossed  the  Delaware  ;  and  as  General  Lee,  the  second  in 
^  command,  was  at  Morristown,  he  made  his  way  thither. 
Just  at  this  time,  Lee  with  a  small  guard  was  quartered, 
for  the  night,  at  a  tavern  at  Baskenridge,  three  miles  from 
his  army,  which  was  left  under  the  command  of  Sullivan. 
Here  he  was  joined  by  Wilkinson,  on  the  morning  of  the 
Dec.  thirteenth  of  December.  Lee  took  his  breakfast  in  a 

1  o 

leisurely  manner,  discussed  the  news,  and  had  just  finished 


CAPTURE    OF    LEE.  391 

a  letter  to  General  Gates,  when,  much  to  his  surprise,  the  CHAP. 

house  was  surrounded  by  a  party  of  British  dragoons.    He  , 

had  not  dreamed  that  an  enemy  w|is  near,  and  his  guards  1776. 
were  off  duty.  But  a  Tory  of  the  neighborhood  had 
learned  the  evening  before  where  he  intended  to  lodge  and 
breakfast,  and  had,  during  the  night,  ridden  eighteen 
miles  to  Brunswick,  to  inform  the  enemy,  and  to  pilot 
them  to  the  spot.  For  a  few  moments  all  was  confusion. 
The  dragoons  were  calling  for  the  General,  and  the  Gen- 
eral was  calling  for  the  guards,  who  were  scattered  in  all 
directions.  "  The  scene  was  soon  closed.  General  Lee, 
without  a  hat,  clad  in  a  blanket-coat  and  slippers,  was 
mounted  on  a  horse  that  stood  at  the  door,  and  borne  off 
in  triumph  to  the  British  army  at  Brunswick." 

Had  Lee,  by  some  fortunate  accident,  succeeded  in  re- 
trieving the  fortunes  of  the  army,  unsuccessful  Bunder 
Washington,  it  is  probable  that  the  wishes  of  the  people 
might  have  turned  toward  him  as  commander-in-chief. 
For  men  are  too  apt  to  judge  of  those  who  live  in  the  same 
age  with  themselves,  merely  by  their  success  ;  and  too 
often  they  yield  to  what  is  self-confident  and  assuming, 
the  honor  and  respect  due  to  sober  judgment  and  high 
moral  principles. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Lee's  success  would  have 
proved  most  unfortunate  for  the  country,  for  he  had  nei- 
ther the  judgment  nor  the  principle  necessary  to  guide  it 
safely  through  the  approaching  crisis. 

After  the  capture  of  Lee,  the  troops  under  Sullivan 
moved  on  at  once  to  join  the  Commander-in-chief.  Gen- 
eral Gates,  who  had  left  his  regiments  at  Morristown, 
reached  the  camp  on  the  same  day.  As  Washington  had 
now  a  force  of  about  six  thousand  men  fit  for  service,  he 
was  anxious  to  strike  a  blow,  that  should  revive  the  cour- 
age of  the  army  and  the  people,  before  the  disbandment 
of  those  troops,  whose  terms  of  enlistments  were  about  to 


392  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 


xxxi*  exPire-     ^he  ProsPect  of  success  was  doubtful,  but  he  felt 

that,  under  the  circumstances,  inaction  would  ruin  the 

1776.    cause,  and  defeat  could  do  no  more. 

Howe  was  in  New  York  ;  Cornwallis,  who  was  on  the 
eve  of  embarking  for  England,  was  there  also.  The  Brit- 
ish forces  in  ISTew  Jersey,  though  strong,  were  much  scat- 
tered. The  Hessians,  who  were  in  the  advance,  were 
carelessly  cantoned  at  different  points  along  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Delaware.  Colonel  Donop  was  stationed  at 
Burlington,  and  his  forces  were  quartered  above  and  be- 
low that  point.  Colonel  Kahl,  who  had  distinguished 
himself  at  White  Plains  and  Fort  Washington,  was  at 
Trenton,  with  a  force  of  fifteen  hundred  men.  This  brave 
but  careless  commander  took  his  ease,  enjoyed  his  music 
and  bath,  and  when  it  was  proposed  to  throw  up  works 
upon  which  to  mount  cannon,  in  readiness  against  an 
assault,  said,  merrily  :  "  Pooh  !  pooh  !  an  assault  by 
the  rebels  !  Let  them  come  ;  well  at  them  with  the 
bayonet."  The  Hessians  were  a  terror  to  the  people  ; 
they  plundered  indiscriminately  Whig  and  Tory.  The 
American  soldiers  hated  them  intensely  for  their  savage 
bayonetings  on  the  battle-field,  and  were  eager  to  avenge 
the  outrages  inflicted  upon  their  friends  and  countrymen. 

Washington  proposed  to  cross  the  river  and  surprise 
the  Hessians  at  different  points.  A  council  of  war  was 
held,  and  Christmas  night  was  fixed  upon  for  the  enter- 
prise. By  the  plan  proposed,  Washington  himself  was  to 
cross  nine  miles  above  Trenton,  and  march  down  upon 
that  place.  Colonel  Ewing,  with  the  Pennsylvania  mili- 
tia, was  to  cross  a  mile  below  the  town,  and  secure  the 
bridge  over  Assunpink  creek,  at  the  south  side  of  it,  and 
thus  cut  off  the  enemy's  retreat.  Adjutant-general  Keed 
and  Colonel  Cadwallader,  who  were  stationed  at  Bristol, 
nearly  opposite  Burlington,  were  to  cross  below  that  place 

*  * 

*      *  , 


BATTLE   OF    TRENTON.  393 


and  advance  against  Count  Donop's  division.  The  attacks 
were  to  be  simultaneous,  and  five  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  twenty-sixth  was  the  hour  agreed  upon.  1776. 

Just  after  sunset,  on  Christmas  night,  the  division  un- 
der Washington,  twenty-four  hundred  in  number,  began 
to  pass  over.  With  this  division  was  a  train  of  twenty 
field-pieces,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Knox.  The 
river  was  filled  with  floating  ice,  and  the  weather  was  in- 
tensely cold.  The  boats  were  guided  by  Colonel  Glover, 
and  his  regiment  of  Marblehead  fishermen,  the  same  who 
had  guided  the  boats  on  the  memorable  retreat  from  Long 
Island.  The  night  was  extremely  dark  and  tempestuous, 
and  the  floating  ice  and  strong  wind  drove  them  out  of 
their  course  again  and  again. 

Washington  had  hoped  to  be  on  the  march  by  mid- 
night, but  hour  after  hour  passed,  and  it  was  four  o'clock 
before  the  artillery  was  landed,  and  the  troops  ready  to 
move  on.  They  marched  in  two  divisions,  one  led  by 
Washington,  (with  whom  were  Generals  Greene,  Stirling, 
Mercer,  and  Stephen,)  by  a  circuitous  route  to  the  north 
of  the  town,  while  the  other,  under  Sullivan,  with  whom 
was  Colonel  John  Stark,  with  his  New  Hampshire  band, 
was  to  advance  by  a  direct  road  along  the  river,  to  the 
west  and  •  south  side.  Sullivan  was  to  halt  at  a  certain 
point  to  allow  time  for  the  main  division  to  make  the 
circuit. 

It  was  eight  o'clock  before  this  division  reached  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  Trenton  ;  they  had  struggled 
through  a  terrible  storm  of  hail  and  snow  ;  it  had  impeded  Dec. 
their  march,  but  it  had  also  aided  to  conceal  their  move- 
ments from  the  enemy.  Washington,  who  had  pushed  on 
with  the  advance,  asked  of  a  man  who  was  chopping  wood 
by  the  road-side  the  way  to  the  Hessian  picket.  He  an- 
swered gruffly,  "  I  don't  know,"  and  went  on  with  his 
work.  "  You  may  tell,"  said  Captain  Forrest,  of  the  ar- 
tillery, "  for  that  is  General  Washington."  "  God  bless 


394  HISTOKY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

xxx?'  an(*  ProsPer  y°u  •  "  exclaimed  the  man,  raising  his  hands 

to  heaven,  "  the  picket  is  in  that  house,  and  the  sentry 

1776.    stands  near  that  tree." 

In  a  fe^  minutes  the  picket-guards  were  driven  in. 
Late  as  it  was,  the  Hessians  were  completely  surprised. 
According  to  their  custom,  they  had  indulged  freely  in  the 
festivities  of  Christmas,  and  were  resting  thoughtless  of 
danger,  when  the  drums  suddenly  beat  to  arms.  All  was 
confusion.  At  the  first  alarm,  Colonel  Kahl,  who  learned 
from  the  lieutenant  of  the  picket-guard  that  a  large  force 
was  advancing  to  surround  him,  endeavored  to  rally  his 
panic-stricken  troops.  He  seems  to  have  meditated  a  re- 
treat to  Princeton  ;  he  had,  in  fact,  passed  out  of  the 
town,  but  the  ambition  of  the  soldier  triumphed  in  his 
breast  ;  how  could  he  fly  before  the  rebels  he  had  de- 
spised ?  He  rashly  returned  to  the  charge.  By  this  time 
Washington  had  gained  the  main  street,  and  opened  a 
battery  of  six  field-pieces,  which  swept  it  from  end  to  end. 
As  Kahl  advanced,  at  the  head  of  his  grenadiers,  he  fell 
mortally  wounded.  At  the  fall  of  their  leader  his  soldiers 
attempted  to  retreat,  but  they  were  intercepted  by  Colonel 
Hand,  with  his  Pennsylvania  riflemen  ;  and,  hemmed  in 
on  all  sides,  they  grounded  their  arms  and  surrendered  at 
discretion. 

Stark,  with  his  detachment,  had  assaulted  the  south 
side  of  the  town,  and  the  firing  in  that  quarter  had  added 
to  the  general  confusion.  A  party  of  British  light-horse, 
and  five  hundred  Hessians  stationed  there  "  took  headlong 
flight,  by  the  bridge  across  the  Assunpink,"  and  thus 
escaped  and  joined  Donop  at  Bordentown.  Had  Colonel 
Ewing  been  able  to  cross,  according  to  the  arrangement, 
their  escape  would  have  been  prevented. 

The  Americans  took  one  thousand  prisoners,  of  whom 
thirty-two  were  officers  ;  of  their  own  number,  only  two 
were  killed,  and  two  were  frozen  to  death  on  the  march. 
Several  were  wounded,  among  whom  was  James  Monroe, 

*  ' 


PLANS  TO  DEIVE  THE  ENEMY  OUT  OF  JERSEY.       395 

afterward  President  of  the  United  States,  who  was  at  this  CHAP. 

XXXI. 

time  a  lieutenant  in  the  army.  

The  attack  designed  by  Keed  and  Cadwallader,  like    1776. 
that  of  Colonel  Ewing,  was  prevented  by  the  ice,  which 
made  it  impossible  for  them   to   embark  their   cannon. 
Thus   the   success   was  incomplete,  and  Washington  at^^ 
Trenton,  encumbered  by  his  prisoners,  with  a  strong  force 
of  the  enemy  below  him,  under  Count  Donop,  and  another 
in  his  rear  at  Princeton,  prudently  resolved  to  recross  the 
Delaware. 

Before  he  left  the  town,  he,  with  General  Greene,  visit- 
ed Colonel  Kahl,  who  survived  until  the  evening  of  the 
day  after  the  battle.  The  dying  Colonel  remembered  his 
grenadiers,  and  during  this  visit  he  commended  them  to 
the  consideration  of  Washington.  Kahl  lies  buried  in  the 
grave-yard  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Trenton. 

When  Washington  had  disposed  of  his  prisoners,  and 
allowed  his  troops  a  little  time  to  recruit,  he  resolved  to 
return  and  follow  up  his  success,  before  the  enthusiasm  it 
had  awakened  had  time  to  cool.  Meantime,  he  had  re- 
ceived from  Keed  and  Cadwallader,  who  had  crossed  on 
the  twenty-seventh,  the  encouraging  news  that  all  the  Dec. 
Hessian  posts  on  the  river  were  deserted  ;  that  Count 
Donop  had  retreated  with  all  haste  to  Brunswick,  with  a 
portion  of  his  forces,  while  the  remainder  had  made  their 
way  to  Princeton. 

"  A  fair  opportunity  is  now  offered,"  writes  Washing- 
ton at  this  time,  "  to  drive  the  enemy  out  of  New  Jersey/' 
and  he  formed  his  plans  accordingly.  The  American 
forces,  now  no  longer  needed  to  guard  the  Delaware,  were 
gradually  concentrating  at  Trenton.  Parties  were  sent  to 
harass  the  retreating  enemy,  and  General  Heath  was  or- 
dered to  make  a  demonstration  from  the  Highlands,  as  if 
he  intended  to  attack  New  York.  The  New  England 
regiments,  whose  terms  were  about  to  expire,  were  induced 
by  a  bounty  of  ten  dollars  and  the  persuasions  of  their 


396  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  officers  to  remain  six  weeks  longer.     Men  of  standing  and 

1  influence  were  sent  abroad  to  rouse  the  militia  of  New 

1776.  Jersey  to  avenge  the  outrages  inflicted  upon  the  people 
"by  the  Hessians.  Matters  began  to  wear  a  brighter  aspect, 
and  hope  and  enthusiasm  were  revived. 

At  this  crisis,  Washington  received  the  highest  mark 
of  confidence  in  the  gift  of  the  people — Congress  invested 
him  with  unlimited  military  authority  for  six  months. 
The  letter  of  the  committee  which  conveyed  to  him  this 
resolution  closed  with  these  words  :  "  Happy  is  it  for  this 
country  that  the  general  of  their  forces  can  safely  be  in- 
trusted with  the  most  unlimited  power,  and  neither  per- 
sonal security,  liberty,  nor  property  be  in  the  least  endan- 
gered thereby/7 1 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  astonishment  of  Howe  when 
he  learned  that  his  Hessians,  veterans  in  war,  had  fled 
before  the  militia.    Cornwallis  was  hurried  back  to  resume 
command  in  the  Jerseys. 

Washington,  anxious  to  ascertain  the  movements  and 
designs  of  the  enemy,  sent  forward  Colonel  Keed,  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  country,  to  reconnoitre. 
With  Eeed  were  six  young  horsemen,  members  of  the 
"Philadelphia  City  Troop/7  full  of  fire  and  zeal,  but  who 
had  never  seen  active  service.  No  reward  could  induce 
the  terror-stricken  people  to  approach  Princeton  and  bring 
them  information.  Nothing  daunted,  the  party  dashed 
on  till  they  were  in  view  of  the  top  of  the  college  building, 
when  they  observed  a  British  dragoon  passing  from  a  barn 
to  a  farm-house.  Supposing  him  to  be  a  marauder,  they 
determined  to  capture  him,  and  obtain  the  desired  infor- 
mation. Presently  they  saw  another,  and  another.  They 
charged  at  once  and  surrounded  the  house,  "  and  twelve 
dragoons,  well  armed,  with  their  pieces  loaded,  and  hav- 

1  Correspondence  of  the  Revolution  vol.  iv.  p.  552. 


BOTH    ARMIES   ON   THE    BANKS   OF    ASSUNPINK    CREEK.  397 


ing  the  advantage  of  the   house,  surrendered   to   seven 
horsemen,  six  of  whom  had  never  seen  an  enemy  before, 
and,  almost  in  sight  of  the  British  army,  were  brought    1776. 
into  the  American  camp  at  Trenton,  on  the  same  even- 
ing." 1    The  sergeant  of  the  dragoons  alone  escaped.     The 
information  obtained  from  these  prisoners  was  most  ^"jj^^p 
portant.     Cornwallis,  with  a  body  of  picked  troops,  had 
joined  Colonel  Grant  the  day  before  at  Princeton,  and  they 
were  ready  to  march  the  next  day  upon  Trenton,  with  a 
strong  force  of  seven  or  eight  thousand  men. 

In  anticipation  of  an  attack,  Washington  arranged 
Ms  men,  in  number  about  six  thousand,  in  a  favorable 
position  on  the  east  bank  of  Assunpink  creek.  As  the 
enemy  approached,  on  the  second  of  January,  their  ad-  Jan. 
vance  was  harassed,  and  so  effectually  held  in  check,  by  2* 
forces  sent  forward  under  General  Greene  and  Colonel 
Hand,  that  they  did  not  reach  Trenton  till  near  sunset.  **.« 
The  fords  and  bridge  over  the  creek  were  carefully  guarded 
and  defended  by  the  American  batteries.  Cornwallis  made 
repeated  attempts  to  cross,  but  was  as  often  repulsed  ;  at 
each  repulse  a  shout  ran  along  the  American  lines.  Think- 
ing that  the  struggle  might  be  a  desperate  one,  the  British 
commander  concluded  to  defer  it  till  the  next  day,  and 
retired  with  the  boast  that  he  would  "  bag  the  fox  in  the 
morning."  Both  armies  kindled  their  camp-fires,  and 
once  more  they  rested  in  sighj;  of  each  other. 

Never  had  the  prospect  of  the  Americans  been  so 
gloomy.  The  officers  gathered  at  the  quarters  of  General 
Mercer  to  hold  a  council  of  war  ;  to  retreat  was  impossi- 
ble ;  behind  them  was  the  Delaware,  filled  with  floating 
ice.  Who  could  propose  an  expedient  that  would  relieve 
them  from  the  present  dilemma  ?  Such  an  expedient, 
one  of  the  boldest  and  best  conceived  of  the  whole  war, 

^p 
1  Life  of  Colonel  Reed,  p.  369. 


398  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

crossed   the  mind  of  the  Commander-in-chief.     He 


XXXI. 

judged  that  the  main  division  of  the  British  forces  was 

1777.  with  Cornwallis  ;  that  Princeton  and  Brunswick,  where 
their  stores  were  deposited,  could  be  but  imperfectly 
guarded.  He  proposed  to  march  by  a  circuitous  and 
,  ^  obscure  road,  around  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy,  to 
Princeton,  capture  the  forces  there,  and  then  push  on  and 
seize  the  stores  at  Brunswick.  The  plan  was  accepted  at 
once,  and  the  officers  entered  into  it  with  alacrity.  The 
stores  were  sent  down  the  river  to  Burlington,  and  various 
stratagems  were  resorted  to  to  deceive  the  enemy.  Small 
parties  were  left  behind,  some  to  be  noisily  employed  in 
digging  trenches  within  hearing  of  their  sentinels  ;  others 
to  relieve  the  guards  and  replenish  the  camp-fires,  and 
preserve  all  the  appearance  of  a  regular  encampment  ;  at 
tylight  these  were  to  hasten  after  the  army. 
About  midnight  the  Americans  began  their  silent 
irch.  The  road  over  which  they  moved  was  new  and 
rough,  and  at  sunrise  they  were  still  three  miles  from 
Princeton.  Here  they  halted,  and  formed  into  two  divi- 
sions, one  of  which,  under  Washington,  was  to  proceed 
by  a  cross-cut  to  the  town,  while  the  other,  under  General 
Mercer,  was  to  gain  the  main  road,  and  destroy  the  bridge, 
when  they  had  passed  over,  to  prevent  the  approach  of 
Cornwallis. 

Three  British  regiments  had  passed  the  night  at 
Jan.  Princeton,  and  two  of  them  were  already  on  their  march 
to  join  the  forces  at  Trenton.  Colonel  Mawhood,  com- 
mander of  the  foremost,  when  about  two  miles  from  the 
town,  caught  sight  of  Mercer's  division.  Believing  it  a 
party  of  Americans  who  had  been  driven  from  Trenton,  he 
sent  back  a  messenger  to  Princeton  to  hurry  on  the  other 
regiments,  that  they  might  surround  them,  and  cut  off 
their  retreat.  Presently  Mercer  espied  the  British,  and 
now  both  parties  rushed  to  gain  a  favorable  position  on  a 
rising  ground.  The  Americans  were  successful,  and  with 


BATTLE    OF    PRINCETON.  399 

their  rifles  opened  a  severe  fire  upon  the  enemy,  who  re-  CHAP. 

turned  it  vigorously.     Almost  at  the  first  fire  Mercer's  L, 

horse  was  shot  under  him,  and  the  second  officer  in  com-    1777. 
mand  fell  mortally  wounded.     The  enemy  took  advantage 
of  the  confusion  that  followed  the  fall  of  the  leaders,  and 
rushed  on  with  the  bayonet.     The  Americans,  who  were    ^  t 
without  bayonets,  unable  to  withstand  the  charge,  gave 
way.     As  Mercer,  now  on  foot,  endeavored  to  rally  them, 
he  was  struck  down,  bayoneted,  and  left  on  the  field  ap- 
parently dead. 

As  his  men  retreated  in  confusion,  a  body  of  Pennsyl- 
vania militia,  which  Washington  had  sent  to  their  aid, 
appeared  in  sight.  Mawhood  instantly  checked  his  pur- 
suit of  the  fugitives,  and  opened  upon  these  fresh  troops  a 
heavy  fire  of  artillery,  which  brought  them  to  a  stand. 

Convinced  by  the  continued  firing  that  the  conflict  *  j 
was  serious,  Washington  spurred  on  in  advance  of  hisjj 
division,  and  just  at  this  crisis  had  reached  a  rising  ground" 
near  by,  from  which  he  witnessed  the  scene.  He  saw  the 
scattered  forces  of  Mercer,  the  hesitation  of  the  militia ; 
every  thing  was  at  stake.  He  dashed  forward  in  the  face 
of  Mawhood's  artillery,  exposed  both  to  the  fire  of  the 
enemy  and  the  random  shots  of  his  own  soldiers,  and 
waving  his  hat  called  upon  the  faltering  and  broken  forces 
to  follow  him.  Inspired  by  his  voice  and  example,  they 
rallied  at  once  and  returned  to  the  charge.  At  this  mo- 
ment a  Virginia  regiment  emerged  from  a  neighboring 
wood,  and  with  loud  cheers  engaged  in  the  conflict ;  while 
the  American  artillery,  now  within  range,  began  to  shower 
grape-shot  upon  the  enemy.  The  fight  was  desperate, 
but  the  field  was  won.  Mawhood,  who,  a  few  minutes 
before,  had  felt  certain  of  victory,  now  with  great  difficulty 
forced  his  way  back  to  the  main  road,  and  retreated  with 
all  haste  toward  Trenton. 

The  second  regiment  was  attacked  by  the  brigade  un- 
der St.  Glair ;  broken  and  scattered,  it  fled  across  the 


400  HISTOEY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  fields  towards  New  Brunswick.     Alarmed  at  the  general 

'.  rout,  a  part  of  the  third  regiment  fled  in  the  same  direc- 

1777.  tion,  while  another  portion  took  refuge  in  the  college 
"building.  The  American  artillery  was  immediately  brought 
to  bear  upon  it,  and  they  soon  surrendered. 

The  British  loss  in  this  battle  was  about  one  hundred 
slain,  and  three  hundred  prisoners,  while  the  Americans 
lost  but  few  ;  among  these  was  the  brave  Colonel  Haslet. 
Mercer,  who  was  left  on  the  field  for  dead,  was  after  the 
battle  discovered  by  Colonel  Armstrong,  still  alive,  but 
suffering  greatly  from  his  wounds,  and  exposure  to  the 
cold.  He  was  borne  to  a  neighboring  farm-house,  where, 
after  a  few  days,  he  expired.  As  a  soldier,  he  was  brave  ; 
as  a  man  of  sterling  merit,  he  was  worthy  the  respect  of 
his  adopted  countrymen,  for,  like  Montgomery,  he  was  of 
foreign  birth,  and  like  him,  he  has  won  an  honorable  name 
long  the  heroes  of  the  Eevolution. 

Washington,  eager  to  secure  the  stores  so  necessary 
for  his  army,  pushed  on  some  distance  toward  Brunswick. 
A  little  reflection  convinced  him  that  his  troops,  in  their 
exhausted  condition,  could  not  reach  there  before  they 
would  be  overtaken.  They  had  been  a  night  and  a  day 
without  rest ;  they  were  thinly  clad,  and  some  of  them 
were  barefoot.  He  stopped  and  held  a  consultation  with 
his  officers  on  horseback.  They  decided  that  it  was  inju- 
dicious to  proceed.  Grieved  and  disappointed,  that  they 
were  unable  to  reap  the  advantage  of  their  recent  success, 
they  turned  their  steps  toward  Morristown. 

When  morning  revealed  to  the  enemy  on  the  banks  of 
the  Assunpink  the  deserted  camp  of  the  Americans,  Corn- 
wallis  was  greatly  at  a  loss  to  divine  to  what  covert  the 
"  fox  "  had  fled.  Soon  the  booming  of  cannon  at  Prince- 
ton gave  him  the  desired  information.  His  thoughts 
turned  at  once  to  the  stores  at  Brunswick  :  he  must  save 


THE    BRITISH    CONFINED    TO    THEIR    CAMP.  401 

them  from  the  hands  of  his  enemy.     His  march  back  to  CHAP. 

Princeton  was  much  impeded.     The  Americans  had  not  L 

forgotten  to  throw  obstacles  in  his  way.  He  found  the  1777. 
bridge  over  Stony  Creek,  a  few  miles  from  the  town,  bro- 
ken down,  and  the  party  of  Americans  left  for  that  pur- 
pose still  in  sight.  Impatient  of  delay  he  urged  on  his 
soldiers,  who,  although  the  waters  were  breast  high,  dashed 
across  the  stream.  Believing  that  Washington  was  in 
full  march  for  Brunswick,  he  halted  not  at  Princeton,  but 
hurried  on  in  pursuit  with  so  much  eagerness,  that  he  did 
not  observe  that  the  Americans  had  diverged  from  the 
road. 

The  American  army  retreated  to  a  strong  position  at 
Morristown.  There  the  soldiers  provided  themselves  huts, 
and  remained  until  the  last  of  May. 

For  six  months  after  the  battle  of  Princeton  no  enter- 
prise of  importance  was  undertaken  by  either  party. 

The  yeomanry  of  New  Jersey  were  now  thoroughly 
roused  to  preserve  their  State  from  further  depredations. 
They  warmly  seconded  the  efforts  of  Washington,  and 
greatly  aided  the  detachments  from  the  army,  who  were 
on  the  alert  to  cut  off  the  foraging  parties  of  the  enemy  ; 
and  so  effectually  did  they  harass  them,  that  they  scarcely 
.ventured  out  of  sight  of  their  camp.  Thus  unable  to  ob- 
tain provisions  for  his  army,  Cornwallis  gradually  with- 
drew within  his  lines,  at  Brunswick  and  Amboy,  that  he 
might  be  in  communication  with  New  York  by  water, 
whence  alone  he  could  draw  his  supplies.  Thus  those 
who,  a  few  weeks  before,  were  in  possession  of  nearly  all 
New  Jersey,  were  now  able  to  retain  scarcely  more  of  her 
soil  than  was  sufficient  for  a  camp. 

The  success  that  had  crowned  the  American  arms  at 
Trenton  and  Princeton  cheered4he  hearts  and  revived  the 
hopes  of  the  patriots  ;  but  they  knew  well  that  the  enemy 
was  checked,  not  conquered ;  that  the  struggle  must  be 
renewed,  and  the  result  was  still  doubtful. 
26 


402  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xxxi  Washington  had  established  his  head-quarters  at  Mor- 

ristown,  while  the  right  wing  of  his  army,  under  Putnam, 

1777.  was  stationed  at  Princeton,  and  the  left  was  in  the  High- 
lands, under  General  Heath.  Along  this  extended  line, 
at  convenient  distances,  were  established  cantonments. 
Though  weak  in  numbers,  the  army  was  so  judiciously 
posted  that  the  enemy,  deceived  by  its  apparent  strength, 
hesitated  to  attack  it. 

Putnam,  who  had  with  him  but  a  few  hundred  men, 
resorted  to  stratagem  to  hide  his  weakness.  A  British 
officer,  who  lay  mortally  wounded  at  Princeton,  desired 
the  presence  of  a  military  comrade  in  his  last  moments. 
The  kind-hearted  general  could  not  deny  the  request ;  he 
sent  a  flag  to  Brunswick  in  quest  of  the  friend,  who  en- 
tered Princeton  after  dark.  Every  unoccupied  house  was 
carefully  lighted,  lights  gleamed  in  all  the  college  windows, 
and  the  Old  General  marched  and  countermarched  his 
scanty  forces  to  such  effect,  that  the  British  soldier,  on 
his  return  to  the  camp,  reported  them  as  at  least  five 
thousand  strong. 

The  winter  at  Morristown  was  a  season  of  comparative 
quiet,  during  which  the  Commander-in-chief  was  engaged 
in  earnest  efforts  to  improve  the  state  of  his  army.  The 
evil  effects  of  the  system  of  short  enlistments  adopted  by 
Congress,  and  repeatedly  protested  against  by  Washing- 
ton, were  severely  felt  at  this  juncture.  The  terms  of 
great  numbers  were  about  to  expire,  and  new  recruits 
came  in  but  slowly.  To  guard  against  the  ravages  of 
small-pox,  which  at  times  had  been  fatally  prevalent  in 
the  army,  these  were  inoculated  as  fast  as  they  came  in. 

The  exchange  of  prisoners  had  become  a  subject  of 
negotiation.  At  first  the  British  refused  to  exchange  on 
equal  terms,  on  the  plea  that  the  Americans  were  rebels, 
but  Howe,  who  had  "at  this  time  about  five  thousand  on 
his  hands,  opened  a  correspondence  with  Washington  on 
the  subject.  Now  the  Americans  in  their  turn  objected 


SUFFERINGS   OF   AMERICAN   PRISONERS.  403 

to  an  exchange.     Their  captured  countrymen  had  been   CHAP. 

left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  New  York  Tories,  crowded  1 

into  warehouses,  which  had  been  converted  into  prisons,    1777. 
or  into  loathsome  hulks  anchored  in  the  bay  ;  fed  with 
impure  food,  and  left  to  languish  in  filth  and  nakedness. 
Thrilling  tales  are  told  of  the  sufferings  of  those  confined 
in  the  sugar-house,  and  on  board  the  Jersey,  a   prison- 
ship.     More  than  ten  thousand  wretched  American  pris- 
oners died  during  the  war,  and  were  buried  without  cere- 
mony in  shallow  graves  at  Brooklyn,  on  Long  Island.    Of 
those  who  survived,  scarcely  one  ever  fully  recovered  from    4 
the  effects  of  these  hardships. 

Washington  refused  to  recruit  the  British  army  by  an 
exchange  of  well-fed  and  hale  Hessian  and  British  prison- 
ers, for  emaciated  and  diseased  Americans,  whose  terms 
of  enlistment  had  expired,  and  who  were  scarcely  able, 
from  very  weakness,  to  return  to  their  homes.  His  policy 
was  sanctioned  by  Congress — a  severe  policy,  but  author- 
ized by  the  necessities  of  the  times. 

To  supply  the  want  of  field-officers,  Congress  com-  Feb. 
missioned  five  major-generals  :  Stirling,  St.  Clair,  Mifflin,  19- 
Stephen,  and  Lincoln.  The  latter  we  have  seen  as  the 
secretary  of  the  first  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachu- 
setts. He  was  afterward  the  efficient  commander  of  the 
militia  of  that  State,  and  now  he  was  promoted  over  the 
heads  of  all  the  brigadiers.  In  these  appointments,  Ar- 
nold, whose  meritorious  conduct  on  the  battle-field,  as 
well  as  his  seniority  as  a  brigadier,  entitled  him  to  promo- 
tion, was  entirely  overlooked.  He  complained  bitterly  of 
this  injustice  ;  the  wound  rankled  in  his  proud  breast  ; 
from  this  hour,  till  he  found  consolation  in  revenge,  he 
seems  to  have  brooded  over  the  disrespect  shown  him  by 
his  countrymen. 

Eighteen  brigadier-generals  were  also  commissioned, 
among  whom  were  Glover,  the  leader  of  the  Marblehead 
fishermen;  George  Clinton,  of  New  York,  the  sturdy 


404  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


guardian  of  the  Highlands,  and  afterward  Yice-President ; 
Woodford  and  Muhlenburg,  of  Virginia — the  latter  an 
1777.  Episcopal  clergyman,  who  at  the  commencement  of  hos- 
tilities had  "  laid  aside  the  surplice  to  put  on  a  uniform/' 
raised  a  company  of  soldiers,  and  who  continued  in  the 
army  till  the  close  of  the  war — and  Hand  and  Anthony 
Wayne,  of  Pennsylvania.  Wayne  was  by  nature  a  sol- 
dier ;  even  in  his  school-days  he  turned  the  heads  of  his 
companions  by  telling  them  stories  of  battles  and  sieges, 
and  drilled  them  in  making  and  capturing  mud  forts.  In 
later  years  he  was  so  distinguished  for  his  daring,  that  he 
became  known  in  the  army  by  the  appellation  of  "  Mad 
Anthony." 

An  Irish  adventurer  named  Conway,  who  professed  to 
have  served  for  thirty  years  in  the  French  army,  and  to 
be  thoroughly  skilled  in  the  science  of  war,  was  also  com- 
missioned. He  proved,  however,  more  famous  for  intrigues 
than  for  military  genius  or  courage. 

Congress  also  authorized  the  enlistment  of  four  regi- 
ments of  cavalry.  The  quartermaster's  department  was 
more  perfectly  arranged,  and  General  Mifflin  was  placed 
at  its  head. 

The  hospital  department  was  also  reorganized,  and 
placed  under  the  charge  of  Doctor  Shippen,  of  the  Medi- 
cal College  at  Philadelphia.  His  principal  assistant  was 
Doctor  Craik,  the  friend  and  companion  of  Washington  in 
his  expeditions  against  Fort  Du  Quesne. 

Doctor  Kush,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  afterward  celebrated  in  his  profession, 
was  appointed  surgeon-general.  The  office  of  adjutant- 
general,  resigned  by  Colonel  Keed,  was  given  to  Timothy 
Pickering,  of  Massachusetts. 

Nor  was  the  navy  neglected.  Of  the  vessels  authorized 
to  be  built,  several  frigates  had  been  finished  and  equipped, 
but  the  want  of  funds  prevented  the  completion  of  the 
remainder,  for  the  Continental  money  began  to  depreciate^ 


MARAUDING   EXPEDITIONS — DANBURY    BURNED.  405 


and  loans  could  not  be  obtained.     The  entire  American  £HAP. 

JLJL2LL* 


under  Admiral  Hopkins,  was  at  this  time  blockaded 
at  Providence.  But  privateers,  especially  from  New  Eng-  1777. 
land,  were  eager  in  pursuit  of  British  vessels  trading  to 
the  West  Indies,  of  which  they  captured  nearly  three 
hundred  and  fifty,  whose  cargoes  were  worth  five  millions 
of  dollars.  A  profitable  trade,  principally  by  way  of  the 
West  Indies,  was  also  opened  with  France,  Spain,  and 
Holland,  but  it  was  attended  by  great  risks,  and  a  large 
number  of  American  vessels  thus  engaged  fell  into  the 

hands  of  British  cruisers. 

• 

£        ' 

In  the  spring,  while  Washington  still  remained  at 
Morristown,  the  British  commenced  a  series  of  marauding 
expeditions.  A  strong  party  was  sent  up  the  Hudson  to 
seize  the  military  stores  at  Peekskill.  General  McDou- 
gall,  finding  it  impossible  to  defend  them  against  a  force 
so  superior,  burned  them,  and  retired  with  his  men  to  the 
hills  in  the  vicinity.  As  General  Heath  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  command  in  Massachusetts,  Washington  sent  • 
Putnam  to  command  in  the  Highlands. 

A  month  later  Cornwallis  made  an  attack  on  a  corps    ^pri! 
under  General  Lincoln,  stationed  at  Boundbrook,  a  few     13. 
miles  from  Brunswick.     The  militia,  to  whom  the  duty 
was  intrusted,  imperfectly  guarded   the  camp.     Lincoln 
with  difficulty  extricated  himself,  after  losing  a  few  men 
and  some  cannon. 

Presently  a  fleet  of  twenty-six  sail  was  seen  proceed- 
ing up  the  Sound  ;  anxious  eyes  watched  it  from  the  shore. 
It  was  the  intriguing  Tryon,  now  a  major-general,  in  com- 
mand of  a  body  of  Tories,  two  thousand  strong,  who  was 
on  his  way  to  destroy  the  military  stores  collected  at  Dan- 
bury,  Connecticut.  He  landed  on  the  beach  between 
F  airfield  and  Norwalk,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty- 
fifth,  and  immediately  commenced  his  march.  April. 


406  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

xxxi*         ^e   a^arm   spread  ;  General   Silliman,  of  the  Con- 

necticut  militia,  called  out  Ms  men,  and  sent  expresses  in 

1777.  every  direction.  Arnold,  who  had  been  sent  by  Washing- 
ton, some  months  before,  to  prepare  defences  at  Provi- 
dence, and  obtain  recruits,  happened  to  be  in  New  Haven 
when  the  express  arrived  with  the  intelligence  of  the  in- 
road. He  hastened  with  some  volunteers  to  join  Generals 
Wooster  and  Silliman,  whose  forces  amounted  to  about 
six  hundred  militia  ;  and  the  whole  company  moved  after 
the  marauders.  ^ 

Tryon,  who  had  marched  all  night,  reached  Danbury 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty-sixth.  He  commenced  at 
once  to  destroy  the  magazines  of  stores.  Although  the 
inhabitants  had  abandoned  their  homes  at  his  approach, 
he  permitted  his  soldiers  to  burn  almost  every  house  in 
the  village.  By  morning  the  work  of  destruction  was 
complete.  The  militia  were  approaching,  and  the  ma- 
rauders were  compelled  to  ran  the  gauntlet  to  their  ships, 
twenty  miles  distant. 

The  Americans  were  separated  into  two  divisions,  one 
under  Wooster,  the  other  under  Arnold  ;  while  the  former 
was  to  harass  the  enemy  in  the  rear,  the  latter  was  to 
make  a  stand  at  a  convenient  point  in  advance  and  ob- 
struct their  progress. 

The  brave  Wooster,  though  sixty-eight  years  of  age, 
led  forward  his  men  with  great  spirit.  When  they,  un- 
used to  war,  faltered  in  the  face  of  the  enemy's  musketry 
and  artillery,  he  rode  to  the  front  and  cheered  them. 
"  Come  on,  my  boys,"  cried  he,  "  never  mind  such  random 
shots."  At  that  moment  a  musket-ball  pierced  his  side, 
and  he  fell  from  his  horse  mortally  wounded.  His  soldiers 
now  retreated  in  confusion. 

Arnold  had  made  a  stand  at  Kidgefield,  two  miles  be- 
yond the  spot  where  Wooster  fell,  and  while  the  enemy 
was  delayed  by  this  skirmishing,  he  had  thrown  up  a  bar- 
ricade or  breastwork.  He  acted  with  his  usual  daring, 


.  - 

* 

' 

DEATH  OF  GENERAL  WOOSTER.  407 

but,  after  a  spirited  resistance,  his  little  force  was  over-  CHAP. 

powered  by  numbers  and  driven  back.     As  he  was  bring-  1 

ing  off  the  rear-guard  his  horse  was  shot  under  him  ;  1777. 
before  he  could  disengage  himself  from  the  struggling  ani- 
mal, a  Tory  rushed  up  with  a  fixed  bayonet,  and  cried 
out,  "  You  are  my  prisoner."  "  Not  yet,"  replied  Arnold, 
as  he  coolly  levelled  his  pistol  and  shot  him  dead.  He  then 
escaped,  rallied  his  men,  and  renewed  the  attack. 

The  determined  resistance  of  the  militia  retarded  the 
British  so  much,  that  they  were  forced  to  encamp  for  the 
night.  The  next  day  they  were  greeted  with  the  same  April 
galling  fire  from  behind  trees,  fences,  and  houses,  which 
continued  until  they  came  within  range  of  the  guns  of 
their  ships.  They  speedily  embarked,  fain  to  escape  the 
rifles  of  the  exasperated  yeomanry. 

General  Wooster  was  conveyed  to  Danbury,  where  he 
died  surrounded  by  his  family.  His  loss  was  greatly  de- 
plored by  the  patriots.  A  neat  monument  in  the  ceme- 
tery of  that  place  now  marks  his  grave. 

When  Congress  learned  of  the  gallant  conduct  of  Ar- 
nold, they  commissioned  him  a  major-general,  and  pre- 
sented him  with  a  horse  richly  caparisoned.  Yet  even 
this  tardy  acknowledgment  of  his  military  merit  was 
marred, — the  date  of  his  commission  still  left  him  below 
his  proper  rank.  He  seemed  to  feel  this  second  slight 

more  keenly  than  the  first. 

- 

The  Americans  resolved  to  retaliate  in  kind,  and  Colo- 
nel Keturn  Jonathan  Meigs,  of  Connecticut,  with  one 
hundred  and  seventy  men,  passed  over  the  Sound  to  the 
east  end  of  Long  Island.  They  carried  their  boats,  during 
the  night,  fifteen  miles  across  the  neck,  launched  them  May 
on  the  bay,  passed  over  to  Sag  Harbor,  and  destroyed  a 
great  amount  of  provisions  and  forage,  collected  there  for 
the  British.  In  addition,  they  burned  twelve  vessels, 


»  *%' 

1 

408  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

W 

Cxxxi    ^°°k  n^ne^y  prisoners,  and  returned  without  losing  a  man, 

having  passed  over  ninety  miles  in  twenty-five  hours. 

1777.  Though  strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  obtain  recruits, 
the  smallness  of  the  American  army  still  continued  ;  want 
of  funds  crippled  every  measure.  At  the  instance  of 
Washington,  Congress  declared  that  those  redemptioners 
or  indented  servants  who  enlisted  in  the  army  should,  by 
that  act,  become  freemen  ;  and  bounties  in  land  were 
offered  the  Hessians  to  induce  them  to  desert. 

Meanwhile  Greneral  Schuyler  labored  with  great  zeal 
in  the  northern  department.  But.  his  feelings  were  se- 
verely tried  by  the  aspersions  which  his  enemies  cast  upon 
his  character,  and  conduct  of  affairs.  In  the  autumn  of 
1776  he  wrote  :  "I  am  so  sincerely  tired  of  abuse,  that  I 
will  let  my enemies  arrive  at  the  completion  of  their  wishes 
as  soon  as  I  shall  have  been  tried  ;  and  attempt  to  serve 
my  injured  country  in  some  other  way,  where  envy  and 
detraction  will  have  no  temptation  to  follow  me."  But 
Congress  would  not  accept  his  resignation.  During  the 
winter  he  made  repeated  appeals  to  the  Commander-in- 
chief  for  reinforcements  and  supplies,  which,  for  want  of 
means,  could  not  be  sent.  There  were  but  six  or  seven 
hundred  men  at  Ticonderoga  ;  Carleton,  he  thought, 
might  cross  Lake  Champlain  on  the  ice  and  attack  them  ; 
if  successful,  he  might  follow  out  his  original  plan  and 
push  on  to  Albany.  As  the  abuse  of  which  Schuyler  com- 
plained was  continued,  early  in  April  he  proceeded  to 
Philadelphia,  and  demanded  of  Congress  a  committee  to 
inquire  into  his  conduct.  Meantime  General  Gates  had 
been  ordered  to  take  command  at  Ticonderoga. 

Schuyler's  patriotism  was  not  an  impulse,  not  a  matter 
of  mere  words,  nor  did  injustice  rouse  in  his  breast,  as  in 
that  of  Arnold,  the  dark  spirit  of  revenge.  However,  the 
committee  reported  in  his  favor  ;  and,  with  his  character 
and  conduct  fully  vindicated,  he  returned  to  the  charge 
of  the  Northern  Department.  The  ambitious  Gates  was 


NATIONAL   FLAG.  409 


deeply  chagrined  and  disappointed  ;  he  had  flattered  him-  CHAP. 

self  that  Schuyler  would  never  resume  his  command,  and  _  1 

regarded  himself  as  virtually  his  successor.     Professing  to  1YT7. 
be  aggrieved,  he  hastened  to  Philadelphia  to  seek  redress 
at  the  hands  of  Congress. 

The  want  of  a  national  flag  was  greatly  felt,  especially 
in  the  marine  service.  Congress  adopted  the  "  Union 
Flag,"  with  its  thirteen  stripes,  but  displaced  the  "  Cross 
of  St.  George,"  and  substituted  for  it  thirteen  stars  ;  to  June< 
which  one  star  has  since  been  added  for  each  additional 
State. 


'     " 


' 


t 


I     ;    ! 


CHAPTEK    XXXII. 

WAR   OF   THE   REVOLUTION—  CONTINUED. 


The  Struggle  excites  an  Interest  in  England  and  France.  —  Baron  De  Kalb.  — 
Privateers  fitted  out  in  France.  —  Negotiations  for  Munitions  of  War.  — 
Howe's  Manoeuvres.  —  Burgoyne  on  his  Way  from  Canada.  —  Ticonde- 

i  roga  Captured.  —  St.  Glair's  Retreat  to  Fort  Edward.  —  Efforts  to  arrest 
the  Progress  of  Burgoyne.  —  Capture  of  General  Prescott.  —  The  secret 
Expedition.  —  The  British  Fleet  puts  to  sea.  —  The  American  Army  at 
Germaritown.  —  La  Fayette.  —  Pulaski  and  Kosciusko.  —  Aid  sent  to 
Schuyler.  —  Howe  lands  at  Elkton.  —  Battle  of  Brandywine.  —  Possession 
taken  of  Philadelphia.  —  Battle  of  Germantown.  —  Hessians  repulsed  at 
*  Fort  Mercer.  —  Winter  Quarters  at  Valley  Forge. 


CHAP  •'••"^  unfortunate  result  of  the  battle  of  Long  Island  ;  the 
xxxn.  loss  of  New  York  and  Fort  Washington  ;  and  the  retreat 
3*  1777  across  New  Jersey,  were  all  significant  of  the  weakness  of 
the  patriot  army.  Intelligence  of  these  disasters  disheart- 
ened the  friends  of  the  cause  in  Europe.  Edmund  Burke, 
their  firm  friend,  remarked  that,  although  the  Americans 
had  accomplished  wonders,  yet  the  overpowering  forces  to 
be  brought  against  them  in  the  following  campaign,  must 
completely  crush  their  hopes  of  Independence.  Said  he  : 
"  An  army  that  is  obliged,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  situa- 
tions, to  decline  an  engagement,  may  delay  their  ruin,  but 
can  never  defend  their  country." 

The  intelligent  portion  of  the  people  of  France  were 
not  indifferent  spectators  of  this  struggle  ;  it  was  watched 
with  intense  interest  by  her  merchants,  her  manufacturers, 


« 

FRIENDS    OF    THE   CAUSE   IN    EUROPE    ENCOURAGED.  411 

her  statesmen.  From  the  day  on  which  Canada  was  wrested  CHAP. 

from  her,  France  had  ardently  hoped  that  her  proud  rival  1 

might  in  turn  lose  her  own  American  colonies.  Ten  years  1777. 
before  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  Choiseul,  the  en- 
lightened statesman  and  prime  minister  of  Louis  XV.,  sent 
an  agent  through  the  colonies,  to  ascertain  the  feelings  of 
the  people.  That  agent  was  Baron  De  Kalb,  the  sam 
who  afterward  so  nobly  served  the  cause  in  the  American 
army.  He  was  indefatigable  in  "  collecting  pamphlets, 
newspapers,  and  sermons,"  which  he  sent  to  his  employer. 
Choiseul  gathered  from  them  the  proofs  that  the  British 
king  and  ministry,  by  their  blindness  and  injustice,  were 
fast  alienating  the  good  will  of  their  colonists ;  and  he 
hoped  by  offering  them,  without  restriction,  the  commerce 
of  France,  to  alienate  them  more  and  more.  Thus  the 
minds  of  the  French  people  and  government  were  pre- 
pared to  afford  aid,  but  not  under  the  present  aspect  of 
affairs. 

* 

Early  in  the  spring,  intelligence  reached  Europe,  that 
the  American  army,  which  was  supposed  to  be  broken 
beyond  recovery,  had  suddenly  rallied,  boldly  attacked, 
and  driven  the  invaders  out  of  New  Jersey.  It  was 
scarcely  thought  possible.  How  could  a  handful  of  ill- 
disciplined,  ill-armed  yeomanry,  so  destitute  of  clothes 
that  some  of  them  froze  to  death  while  on  duty,  and  oth- 
ers stained  the  snow  with  the  blood  that  flowed  from  their 
naked  feet,  meet  and  defeat  a  regular  army  ?  Surely, 
men  who  would  thus  cheerfully  suffer,  deserved  independ- 
ence !  A  thrill  of  enthusiasm  was  excited  in  their  favor. 
They  were  regarded  as  a  nation  of  heroes,  and  Washing- 
ton, because  of  his  prudence  and  skill,  was  extolled  as  the 
American  Fabius. 

With  the  connivance  of  the  government,  American 
privateers  were  secretly  fitted  out,  and  even  permitted  to 
sell  their  prizes  in  French  ports,  in  spite  of  the  protests 


412  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xxxFf   °^  ^e  British  ambassador.    The  government  itself  secretly 

sent   arms   and  military  stores  for  the  American  army. 

1777.  This  was  done  by  means  of  a  fictitious  trading-house, 
known  as  "  Hortales  and  Company."  These  supplies  were 
to  be  paid  for  in  tobacco,  sent  by  the  way  of  the  West 
Indies.  Soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  secret  nego- 
tiations on  the  subject  had  been  entered  upon  in  London 
by  Beaumarchais,  an  agent  of  the  French  court,  and  Ar- 
thur Lee,  who  for  some  years  had  resided  in  that  city  as 
a  barrister.  The  latter  was  a  brother  of  Kichard  Henry 
Lee,  of  Virginia,  for  which  colony  he  had  acted  as  agent 
in  England.  The  Secret  Committee  of  Congress,  in  the 
mean  time,  sent  Silas  Deane  to  Paris,  as  an  agent  to  obtain 
supplies.  Though  Deane  appeared  in  that  city  simply  as 
a  merchant,  he  became  an  object  of  suspicion,  and  was 
closely  watched  by  British  spies.  Beaumarchais  now  made 
arrangements  with  him  to  send  three  ships  laden  with 
military  stores  to  the  United  States.  Unfortunately  two 
of  these  ships  were  captured  by  British  cruisers  ;  the  third, 
however,  arrived  opportunely  to  furnish  some  of  the  regi- 
April.  ments  recently  enlisted  at  Morristown. 

Three  months  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
Doctor  Franklin  was  sent  to  join  Deane  in  France,  and 
thither,  Lee  was  also  directed  to  repair.  To  these  com- 
missioners Congress  delegated  authority  to  make  a  treaty 
of  alliance  with  the  French  court.  They  were  admitted 
to  private  interviews  by  Vergennes,  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  encouraged,  but  the  government  was  not  yet 
prepared  to  make  an  open  declaration  of  its  true  senti- 
ments. 

The  British  ministry,  by  means  of  spies,  obtained  in- 
formation of  some  of  these  proceedings.  They  immedi- 
ately issued  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  against  the 
Americans,  while  Parliament  cheerfully  voted  supplies 
Fe^'  and  men  to  prosecute  the  war. 

'    -• 


* 


HOWE'S    MOVEMENTS — NEWS   FROM   THE   NORTH.  413 

As  the  spring  advanced,  the  enemy's  movements  were  CHAP. 

watched  with  anxious  interest.     That  he  might  observe  . 

them  to  better  advantage,  Washington,  on  the  twenty-  1777. 
eighth  of  May,  removed  his  camp  to  the  heights  of  Middle- 
brook,  a  strong  and  central  position.  Early  in  June,  Sir  May. 
William  Howe,  who  had  received  large  reinforcements, 
and  supplies  of  tents  and  camp  equipage,  established  his 
head-quarters  at  Brunswick,  about  ten  miles  distant. 
He  commenced  a  series  of  manoeuvres,  and  made  a 
feint  movement  toward  Philadelphia,  in  the  hope  of  draw- 
ing Washington  from  the  heights  into  the  open  plain, 
where  British  discipline  might  prevail ;  the  latter  was 
too  cautious  to  be  thus  entrapped,  and  Howe,  foiled  in  his 
attempt,  retraced  his  steps  to  Brunswick.  Presently  he 
evacuated  that  place,  and  hastened  with  all  speed  toward 
Amboy.  Washington  sent  an  advance  party  in  pursuit, 
but  suspecting  this  move  was  also  a  feint,  he  followed 
slowly  with  the  main  body.  The  suspicion  was  just ;  ** 
Howe  suddenly  wheeled,  and  by  a  rapid  movement  en- 
deavored to  turn  the  Americans'  left,  in  order  to  gain  the 
passes  and  heights  in  their  rear,  but  Washington  saw  his 
object  in  time  to  gain  his  stronghold.  Unable  to  bring 
on  an  engagement,  Howe  in  a  few  days  withdrew  his  forces 

to  Staten  Island.  June 

20 
Just  before  this  time,  important  news  had  been  received 

from  the  North.  Burgoyne,  who  had  succeeded  Sir  Guy 
Carleton,  was  about  to  advance  by  way  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  while  a  detachment  under  General  St.  Leger  and 
Sir  John  Johnson,  was  to  make  its  way  by  Oswego  to  the 
Mohawk  river.  On  the  very  day  that  the  British  left 
New  Jersey,  further  intelligence  came  from  St.  Clair  that 
the  enemy's  fleet  was  actually  approaching  Ticonderoga, 
where  he  was  in  command. 

The  force  under  Burgoyne  was  not  precisely  known  ; 
it  was,  however,  thought  to  be  small,  but  in  truth  he  had 
a  finely  equipped  army  of  nearly  ten  thousand  men,  four- 

i 


414  HISTOEY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


xxxn    fif^s  of  whom  were  regulars,  British  and  Hessian  ;  the 
-  remainder  Canadians  and  Indians.     It  was  furnished  with 
1777.    one  of  the  finest  paries  of  field-artillery,  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Phillips,  who  had   acquired   his  great 
reputation  as  an  artillery  officer  in  the  wars  of  Germany. 
He  was  also  ably  supported  by  the  second  in  command, 
General  Fraser,  an  officer  of  great  merit,  and  who  was 
characterized  as  the   soul  of  the  army.     The   Hessians 
jre  under  Baron  Keidesel. 

Fear  Crown  Point,  Burgoyne  met  the  chiefs  of  the 
Six  Nations  in  council,  and  induced  four  hundred  of  their 
June,  warriors  to  join  him.  A  few  days  later  he  issued  a  bom- 
bastic proclamation,  in  which  he  threatened  to  punish  the 
patriots  who  would  not  immediately  submit,  and  to  let 
loose  upon  them  the  Indians. 

St.  Clair,  who  had  but  three  thousand  men,  wrote  to 
General  Schuyler  at  Albany,  that  he  could  not  defend 
Ticonderoga  unless  he  had  reinforcements,  ending  his  let- 
ter by  saying  :  "  Every  thing  will  be  done  that  is  practi- 
cable to  frustrate  the  enemy's  designs  ;  but  what  can  be 
expected  from  troops  ill-armed,  naked,  and  unaccoutred  ?  " 
Still  unaware  of  the  force  of  the  enemy,  he  trusted  in  his 
position,  and  that  he  could  hold  out  for  some  time. 

There  was  an  abrupt  hill  on  the  edge  of  the  narrow 
channel  which  connects  Lakes  Champlain  and  George. 
This  hill  commanded  Fort  Ticonderoga,  and  also  Fort 
Independence,  on  the  east  side  of  Champlain.  It  was 
/thought  by  St.  Clair,  and  others,  to  be  absolutely  inac- 
cessible for  artillery.  But  the  "  wily  Phillips,"  acting  on 
the  principle  that  "  where  a  goat  can  go,  a  man  may  go  ; 
and  where  a  man  can  go,  artillery  may  be  drawn  up," 
suddenly  appeared  on  this  hill-top.  For  three  days  he 
had  been  at  work  taking  his  cannon  up  the  height,  and  in 
twenty-four  hours  he  would  be  ready  to  "  rain  iron  hail" 
on  both  the  forts,  from  his  Fort  Defiance. 

The  Americans  must  now  evacuate  the  forts,  or  be 

' 


* 


BURGOYNE'S  ADVANCE — ST.  GLAIR'S  RETREAT.  415 

made  prisoners.  St.  Glair  chose  the  former.  He  could 
only  escape  in  the  night,  and  his  preparations  must  be 
made  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  The  two  hundred  bateaux  1777. 
were  to  be  laden  with  stores,  the  women,  the  sick  and 
wounded,  and  sent  up  South  Kiver.  St.  Glair,  with  the 
main  body,  was  to  pass  to  Fort  Independence,  and  with 
its  garrison  march  through  the  woods  to  Skeenesborough, 
now  Whitehall.  With  the  greatest  secrecy  and  speed, 
the  arrangements  were  made  ;  the  boats,  concealed  by  the  July 
deep  shadows  of  the  mountains,  were  under  way ;  the  6* 
main  body  had  passed  over  the  drawbridge  to  Independ- 
ence, and  was  on  its  march,  and  the  rear  division  was  just 
leaving  Ticonderoga,  when  suddenly,  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning,- the  whole  heavens  were  lighted  up  ;  a  house 
on  mount  Independence  was  on  fire,  and  its  light  revealed 
the  Americans  in  full  retreat.  Alarm  guns  and  beating 
of  drums  aroused  the  British.  General  Fraser  was  soon 
in  motion  with  his  division,  the  abandoned  forts  were  / 
taken  possession  of,  and  by  daylight  measures  concerted 
to  pursue  the  fugitives  both  by  land  and  water.  Fraser 
was  to  pursue  St.  Glair  with  his  division,  and  General 
Keidesel  to  follow  with  his  Hessians,  while  Burgoyne  him- 
self sailed  in  his  ships  to  overtake  the  American  flotilla. 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day,  the  flotilla  reached 
Whitehall  ;  but  scarcely  were  they  landed,  when  the  roar- 
ing of  artillery  told  that  the  British  gunboats  had  over- 
taken the  rear-guard  of  galleys.  Presently,  fugitives  from 
these  brought  intelligence  that  the  British  frigates  had 
landed  Indians,  who  were  coming  to  cut  off  their  retreat. 
Every  thing  was  abandoned,  and  set  on  fire  ;  all  took  to 
flight  toward  Fort  Anne,  at  which  place,  after  a  most 
harassing  night-march,  they  arrived.  The  enemy  appeared 
the  same  day,  but  were  held  in  check  by  sharp  skirmish- 
ing. The  Americans  thought  this  the  vanguard  of  Bur- 
goyne's  army,  and  they  set  Fort  Anne  on  fire,  and  retreated 


1% 
* 


416  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

xmi'  s*xteen   miles   further  to   Fort  Edward,  where   General 

Schuyler  had  just  arrived  with  reinforcements. 

1777.  General  St.  Clair  continued  his  retreat,  and  at  night 
arrived  at  Castleton ;  his  rear-guard,  contrary  to  his  ex- 
press orders,  stopped  six  miles  short  of  that  place.  The 
next  morning,  the  guard  was  startled  by  an  attack  from 
Eraser's  division,  which  had  marched  nearly  all  night.  At 
the  .first  onset  a  regiment  of  militia  fled,  but  the  regiments 
of  Warner  and  Francis  made  a  spirited  resistance  ;  yet 
they  were  compelled  to  yield  to  superior  numbers,  and 
make  the  best  retreat  they  could.  St.  Clair,  in  the  mean 
time,  pushed  on  through  the  woods  ;  after  seven  days,  he 
appeared  at  Fort  Edward,  with  his  soldiers  wearied  and 
haggard  from  toil  and  exposure. 

Schuyler  sent  at  once  a  strong  force  to  put  obstructions 
in  Wood  Creek  ;  to  fell  trees  and  break  down  the  bridges 
on  the  road  from  Fort  Anne  to  Fort  Edward.     This  being 
the  only  road  across  that  rough  and  thickly  wooded  coun- 
try, it  took  Burgoyne  three  weeks  to  remove  these  obstruc- 
tions and  arrive  at  Fort   Edward.     The   British  hailed 
with  shouts  of  exultation  the  Hudson  ;  the  object  of  their 
toil.     It  would  be  easy,  they  thought,  to  force  their  way 
July    to*  Albany,  in  which  place  Burgoyne  boasted  he  would  eat 
80*     his  Christmas  dinner. 

Schuyler  now  retreated  to  Saratoga.  In  these  reverses 
the  loss  of  military  stores,  artillery,  and  ammunition  was 
immense,  and  the  intelligence  spread  consternation  through 
the  country.  The  American  army  under  Schuyler  con- 
sisted of  only  about  five  thousand  men,  the  majority  of 
whom  were  militia  ;  many  were  without  arms,  while  there 
was  a  deficiency  of  ammunition  and  provisions. 

Just  at  this  time,  a  daring  and  successful  adventure 
mortified  the  enemy,  and  afforded  no  little  triumph  to 
American  enterprise.  The  commanding  officer  at  New- 
port, General  Prescott,  famous  for  the  arbitrary  and  con- 


. » 


* 


m 


A   BRITISH    FLEET    PUTS   TO   SEA.  417 

temptuous  manner  in  which  he  treated  the  "rebels," 
offered  a  reward  for  the  capture  of  Arnold,  who  replied  to 
the  insult  by  offering  half  the  sum  for  the  capture  of  1777. 
Prescott.  It  was  ascertained,  by  means  of  spies,  that  the 
latter  was  lodging  at  a  certain  house  in  the  outskirts  of 
the  town.  On  a  dark  night  a  company  of  select  men, 
with  Colonel  Barton  at  their  head,  crossed  Narraganset  Jul7 
Bay,  in  whale-boats,  threading  their  way  through  the  Brit- 
ish fleet.  They  secured  the  sentinel  at  the  door,  burst 
into  the  house,  and  seized  Prescott,  who  was  in  bed.  The 
astonished  General  only  asked  if  he  might  put  on  his 
clothes.  "Very  few  and  very  quick/'  replied  Bafton. 
He  returned  with  his  prisoner  across  the  bay  without  being 
discovered.  This  was  a  counterpart  to  the  capture  of  Lee, 
for  whom  Prescott  was  afterward  exchanged. 

The  uncertainty  as  to  the  designs  of  the  enemy  was 
perplexing.  Washington  learned  from  spies  in  New  York 
that  Howe  was  preparing  for  an  expedition  by  water,  but 
its  destination  was  a  profound  secret.  Burgoyne  was  evi- 
dently pressing  on  toward  the  South,  to  obtain  possession 
of  the  Hudson.  Did  Howe  intend  to  move  up  that  river  to 
co-operate  with  him,  and  thus  cut  off  the  communication 
between  New  England  and  the  other  States ;  to  make  an  at- 
tack on  Boston,  and  thus  employ  the  militia  of  those  States 
at  home,  and  prevent  their  joining  Schuyler,  or  to  endeavor 
to  reach  Philadelphia  by  water  ?  were  questions  difficult 
to  answer.  In  the  midst  of  these  speculations  as  to  its  des- 
tination, the  British  fleet,  on  board  of  which  were  about 
eighteen  thousand  men,  under  the  command  of  Howe, 
passed  out  through  the  Narrows,  and  bore  away.  Intelli- 
gence came  in  the  course  of  ten  days  that  it  was  seen  off 
Cape  May,  and  Washington  moved  the  army  across  the  July 
Delaware  to  Germantown,  a  few  miles  from  Philadelphia.  30- 

Presently  it  was  ascertained  that  the  fleet  had  sailed 
to  the  eastward.     Was  it  to  return  to  New  York,  or  had 
27 


J 

'    . 
418  HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

xxxii'  **  sailed  for  Boston  ?     Til1  tne  designs  of  the  enemy  were 

more  definitely  known,  the  army  was  held  in  readiness  to 

1777.    march  at  a  moment's  notice. 

While  waiting  for  time  to  unravel  these  mysterious 

f  movements  of  Sir  William,  Washington  visited  Philadel- 
phia to  consult  with  Congress,  and  to  give  directions  for 
the  further  construction  of  fortifications  on  the  Delaware, 
to  prevent  the  enemy  from  ascending  to  the  city.  Some 
months  before,  Arnold,  after  refusing  the  command  in  the 
Highlands,  offered  him  by  Washington  to  soothe  his 
wounded  feelings,  had  accepted  that  in  Philadelphia,  and 
with  the  aid  of  General  Mifflin,  had  already  partially  con- 
structed defences. 

The  Duke  of  Gloucester,  the  brother  of  the  king  of 
England,  at  a  dinner  given  him  by  French  officers  in  the 
town  of  Mentz,  had  told  the  story,  and  the  cause  of  the 
rebellion  then  going  on  in  America.  A  youth  of  nineteen 
belonging  to  one  of  the  noble  families  of  France  was  a 
f  listener.  For  the  first  time,  he  heard  of  the  Declaration 

of  Independence,  and  the  full  particulars  of  the  struggle 
m  for  liberty  then  in  progress  in  the  colonies  beyond  the  At- 
lantic. His  generous  sympathies  were  enlisted  ;  he  could 
appreciate  the  nobleness  of  their  cause,  and  his  soul  was 
fired  with  the  desire  to  fly  to  their  aid.  Though  happily 
married,  and  blest  with  wealth,  high  social  position,  and 
£  I  domestic  joys,  he  was  willing  to  leave  them  all,  and  risk 
his  life  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  This  young  man  was 
the  Marquis  De  Lafayette. 

Though  the  French  government  was  not  prepared  to 
take  a  decided  stand,  while  the  issue  seemed  doubtful,  yet 
this  consideration,  instead  of  checking,  inflamed  his  ardor. 
"  Now  I  see  a  chance  far  usefulness,  which  I  had  not  an- 
ticipated. I  have  money  ;  I  will  purchase  a  ship,  which 
will  convey  to  America  myself,  my  cornpanionst..and  the 
freight  for  Congress."  Such  were  his  words  ;  am  he  se- 

"  "*'i2 

i  JfL   -|2 

. 

*  -'  i 


LAFAYETTE — THE   FOREIGN   OFFICERS.  419 

cretly  purchased  a  vessel,  which  Deane  loaded  with  military  CHAP. 
stores,  and  accompanied  by  eleven  officers,  among  whom  


was  the  Baron  De  Kalb,  he  sailed  directly  for  the  United  1777. 
States.  He  landed  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina,  and  ,  4 
proceeded  at  once  to  Philadelphia,  to  have  an  interview 
with  Congress.  The  number  of  foreign  officers  who  were 
applicants  for  employment  in  the  army  was  so  great,  that 
Congress  found  difficulty  in  disposing  of  them.  Deane  had 
been  authorized  to  engage  a  few  competent  officers,  but 
he  seems  to  have  accepted  all  who  applied  ;  and  many 
came  as  adventurers,  and  "  even  some  who  brought  high 
recommendations,  were  remarkable  for  nothing  but  extrav- 
agant self-conceit,  and  boundless  demands  for  rank,  com- 
mand, and  pay."  l 

But  the  earnest  disinterestedness  of  Lafayette  capti- 
vated all  hearts.  Though  he  offered  to  serve  as  a  volun- 
teer without  pay,  Congress  commissioned  him  a  major- 
general,  but  without  any  special  •  command.  A  few  days 
after  this  Washington  and  Lafayette  met — names  to  be 
ever  linked  in  the^annals  of  *fr,eedom.  Congress  also  ac-  Aug. 
cepted  the  services  of  Count  Pulaski,  already  famous  for 
his  patriotic  defence  of  his  native  Poland.  His  fellow- 
countryman,  Thadojeus  Kosciusko — a  youth  of  twenty- 
one — afterward  equstly  celebrated  in  fighting,  though  un- 
successfully, for  the  liberties  of  the  same  Poland,  was 
already  with  General  Schuyler,  acting  in  the  capacity  of 
engineer.  > 

It  was  now  ascertained  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  whom 
Howe  had  left  in  command  in  New  York,  had  a  force 
sufficient,  not  merely  to  penetrate  up  the  Hudson  and  co- 
operate with  Burgoyne,  but  to  s&id  detachments  and 
create  a  diversion  in  favor  of  Howe  in  the  vicinity  of  Phil-  M 
adelphia. 

Just  at  this  time  ca*me  urgent  appeals  from  Schuyler, 

,  "'Hildreth,  vol.  iii.  p.  194. 

W 


f  +* 

X* 

/ 


420  HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

ashi 


xxxii    an(^  Washington  detached  to  his  aid  two  brigades  from 

the  Highlands,  and  soon  after  Colonel  Morgan  with  his 

1777.    riflemen,  to  counteract  the  Indians,  of  whom  the  militia 
had  a  great  dread.     He  had  already  sent  Arnold,  who 
i  would  be  of  special  service  in  that  region — the  scene  of 

some  of  his  brilliant  exploits.  Now  he  directed  General 
Lincoln,  who  was  in  Mssachusetts,  to  repair  thither  with  a 
portion  of  the  militia  of  that  State,  and  sent  an  express  to 
Putnam  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  repel  any  attack 
from  Clinton,  and  prevent  his  forming  a  junction  with  Bur- 
goyne.  We  will  now  leave  the  affairs  in  the  North  till  we 
have  disposed  of  those  connected  with  Howe's  expedition. 

In  the  midst  of  uncertainty,  Washington  was  about  to 
issue  orders  for  the  army  at  Germantown  to  move  toward 
New  York,  when  an  express  brought  him  the  intelligence 
that  the  British  fleet  had  passed  into  the  Chesapeake. 
The  mystery  was  easily  explained.  Howe  had  learned  of 
the  obstructions  in  the  Delaware,  and  he  now  designed  to 
land  his  troops  at  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  march 
thence  to  Philadelphia,  while  the  fleet  should  return,  and 
in  concert  with  the  land  forces,  reduce  the  forts  on  the 
Delaware.  After  being  delayed  some  weeks  by  adverse 
winds,  his  army  was  now  landed  at  Elkton,  about  sixty 
miles  from  Philadelphia.  His  first  demonstration  was  to 
issue  another  of  his  famous  proclamations  ;  again  he  offered 
pardon  to  those  rebels  who  would  submit,  and  promised 
Aug  protection  to  those  persons  who  would  remain  peaceably 
25.  at  home. 

The  main  body  of  the  American  army  was  still  at 
Germantown,  where  the  militia,  that  had  been  called  out, 
^  had  assembled.  Washington  was  sadly  deficient  in  men 
and  means  to  meet  the  British  in  open  conflict  ;  and  there 
were  no  hills  in  the  region,  which  he  could  occupy.  He 
had  only  eleven  thousand  effective  men ;  there  was  none 
of  that  enthusiasm  which  was  then  bringing  the  militia  in 

..     •-- 
f.^v    '       w 


BATTLE  OP  BRANDY  WINE.  421 


thousands  to  repel  Burgoyne.     The  Quakers  of  Delaware 
and  Pennsylvania  were  at  best  but  lukewarm  in  the  cause, 
while  the  Germans  wished  to  be  neutral,  and  to  avoid  the    1777. 
expense. 

Washington  concentrated  his  army  in  the  vicinity  of  ^  *  ' 

Wilmington,  but  after  examining  the  country  resolved  to 
fall  back  beyond  the  Brandywine  creek,  which  was  every- 
where fordable.  The  main  road  to  Philadelphia  crossed 
the  creek  at  Chadd's  Ford.  This,  it  was  thought,  would 
be  the  main  point  of  attack.  A  hill  overlooking  the  ford 
had  been  intrenched,  and  there  Wayne  was  stationed  with 
the  artillery.  The  right  wing  was  commanded  by  Sulli- 
van, who  had  just  arrived  with  three  thousand  men  from 
Jersey  ;  his  division  extended  two  miles  up  the  creek. 
The  left  wing,  under  General  Armstrong  —  the  same  who 
destroyed  the  Indian  town  of  Kittaning  —  extended  a  mile 
below  ;  while  General  Greene,  with  the  reserve,  was  sta- 
tioned in  the  rear  of  the  centre  on  the  hills. 

In  the  morning,  the  enemy,  in  heavy  column,  was    Sept. 
descried  moving   toward   Chadd's  Ford.      This   division     1:l- 
could  be  only  partially  seen,  because  of  intervening  woods, 
but  it  appeared  to  be  the  main  body  of  the  enemy.    Skir- 
mishing soon  commenced  between  the  riflemen  and  the 
enemy,  who  made  several  attempts  to  cross  the  ford,  but 
were  as  often  repulsed. 

Near  mid-day  a  note  from  Sullivan  stated  he  had  heard 
that  Howe,  with  a  large  body  of  troops,  was  passing  up 
another  road,  with  the  intention  of  reaching  the  upper 
fords  of  the  creek,  and  then  turning  the  right  flank  of.the 
Americans.  Washington  sent  a  company  to  reconnoitre. 
In  the  mean  time,  he  determined  to  throw  his  entire  force 
on  the  enemy  immediately  in  his  front,  and  rout  them  be-  j§^' 
fore  they  could  obtain  assistance  from  the  division  march- 
ing the  other  road  ;  his  orders  were  given  for  both  wings 
to  co-operate.  This  would  have  been  a  skilful  move,  and, 


i 


422  HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

xxxfi   m  a^  p™a"b2i^(j  nave  secured  tlie  defeat  of  Knyphausen, 

who,  with  his  Hessians,  was  in  front. 

At  the  moment  Sullivan  was  complying  with  the  order, 
unfortunately  Major  Spicer  came  from  the  upper  fords, 
and  reported  that  there  was  no  enemy  in  that  quarter. 
This  information  was  transmitted  to  the  Commander-in- 
chief,  who,  in  consequence,  countermanded  the  former 
)rder,  till  he  could  receive  further  information.  After 
dting  some  time,  a  patriot  of  the  neighborhood,  with  his 
lorse  in  a  foam,  dashed  into  the  presence  of  Washington, 
and  declared  that  Howe  was  really  passing  the  fords,  and 
rapidly  gaining  the  rear  of  the  American  army.  Wash- 
ington replied,  that  he  had  just  heard  there  was  no  enemy 
in  that  quarter.  "  You  are  mistaken,  general/'  exclaim- 
ed the  excited  countryman  ;  "  my  life  for  it,  you  are  mis- 
taken." And  tracing  the  course  of  the  roads  in  the  sand, 
he  showed  him  the  position.  All  doubts  were  removed  in 
a  few  minutes,  by  the  return  of  the  party  sent  to  recon- 
noitre with  intelligence  that  a  large  body  of  the  enemy 
was  fast  gaining  their  rear. 

Lord  Cornwallis,  led  by  Tory  guides,  had  marched  a 
circuit  of  seventeen  miles,  and  Knyphausen  was  merely 
waiting  at  Chadd's  Ford  for  that  circuit  to  be  accom- 
plished. 

Sullivan  was  ordered  to  oppose  Cornwallis,  and  Greene, 
with  the  reserve,  to  give  aid  where  it  might  be  needed. 
Sullivan  made  a  vigorous  resistance,  but  was  forced  to  fall 
back  to  a  piece  of  woods,  in  which  the  British  became 
entangled.  The  Americans  rallied  on  a  hill,  and  there 
made  a  still  firmer  resistance,  but  were  at  length  com- 
pelled to  fall  back.  Greene  was  now  ordered  to  move  to 
their  support,  which  he  did  with  such  rapidity,  that  his 
men  marched,  or  rather  ran,  five  miles  in  less  than  an 
hour.  Such  was  the  skilful  disposition  of  his  soldiers, 
that  they  not  only  checked  the  enemy,  but  opened  their 
ranks  and  let  the  retreating  Americans  pass  through.  This 


AMERICANS   RETREAT    TO    GERMANTOWN.  423 


brave  conduct  of  the  reserve  saved  Wayne's  division  from 
a  complete  rout.  He  had  stubbornly  withstood  the  Hes- 
sians  at  the  Ford,  but  when  he  saw  the  forces  under  Sul-  1Y7T. 
livan  retreating,  unable  to  cope  with  half  the  British 
army,  he  gradually,  and  in  order,  fell  back.  The  Hessians 
were  not  disposed  to  press  upon  their  determined  foe. 
Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Brandywine.  The  Americans 
were  driven  from  the  field,  but  the  soldiers  were  not  aware 
that  they  had  suffered  a  defeat  ;  they  thought  they  had 
received  only  a  check.  Though  some  of  the  militia  gave 
•  way  at  once,  the  great  majority  fought  bravely,  met  the 
enemy  in  deadly  conflict  with  the  bayonet,  and  forced 
them  back  ;  but,  at  last,  numbers  prevailed. 

Lafayette  behaved  with  great  bravery  and  prudence  ; 
he  had  leaped  from  his  horse  to  rally  the  troops,  when  he 
was  severely  wounded  in  the  leg.  Count  Pulaski  also  dis- 
tinguished himself  greatly  —  riding  up  within  pistol-shot 
of  the  enemy  to  reconnoitre.  Congress  promoted  him  to 
the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  and  gave  him  the  command 
of  the  horse. 

Sir  William  Howe  loved  repose,  and  he  did  not  press 
his  advantage,  but  remained  two  days  encamped  near  the 
field  of  battle. 

During  this  time,  the  Americans  retreated,  first  to 
Chester,  and  on  the  twelfth  safely  crossed  the  Schuylkill, 
and  thence  proceeded  to  Germantown  ;  there  Washington 
let  them  repose  a  day  or  two.  They  were  in  good  spirits, 
he  prepared  to  meet  the  enemy  again,  and  with  this  inten- 
tion crossed  the  river.  About  twenty-five  miles^rom  SePk 
Philadelphia  the  two  armies  met,  but  a  furious  storm  pre- 
vented a  conflict.  The  rain  so  much  injured  the  arms  and 
ammunition  that  Washington  deemed  it  prudent  once 
more  to  recross  the  river,  and  retire  to  Pott's  Grove,  about 
thirty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  General  Wayne  was  de- 
tached, in  the  meanwhile,  with  fifteen  hundred  men,  to 
secretly  gain  the  rear  of  the  British  army,  and  cut  off  their 


424  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  baggage  ;  but  a  Tory  carried  information  of  the  enter- 

]  prise,  and  Wayne  himself  was  surprised,  and  after  the  loss 

177V.  of  three  hundred  men  forced  to  retreat, 
^ao*'  When  it  seemed  certain  that  the  city  must  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  British,  the  military  stores  were  removed, 
and  a  contribution  levied  upon  the  inhabitants  for  blank- 
ets, clothes,  shoes,  and  other  necessaries  for  the  army 
during  the  approaching  winter. 

It  was  a  time  of  great  danger,  and  Congress  again 
clothed  Washington  with  absolute  power,  first  for  sixty 
days,  and  soon  after  for  double  that  period.  This  done, 
that  body  adjourned,  first  to  Lancaster,  and  then  in  a  few 
days  to  York,  beyond  the  Susquehanna. 

Howe,  by  a  night  march,  was  enabled  to  pass  the 
Schuylkill ;  he  then  pushed  on  a  detachment  which  took 
g    t     possession  of  Philadelphia,  while  the  main  body  of  his 
22.      army  halted  at  Grermantown. 

Though  the  city  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  the 
Americans  still  held  possession  of  the  forts  on  the  lower 
Delaware. 

With  much  exertion,  Admiral  Howe  had  brought  the 
fleet  round  from  the  Chesapeake,  and  anchored  it  below 
the  forts.  Fort  Mifflin  was  situated  on  a  low  mud  island, 
at  the  confluence  of  the  Schuylkill  and  the  Delaware. 
Directly  opposite,  at  Eed  Bank,  on  the  Jersey  shore,  was 
Fort  Mercer.  These  were  furnished  with  heavy  cannon. 
Heavy  timbers  framed  together,  with  beams  projecting, 
and  armed  with  iron  spikes,  were  sunk  in  the  river  by 
means  of  weights  ;  in  addition  to  these  obstructions,  were 
floating  batteries  above. 

Washington  having  learned,  from  intercepted  letters, 
that  a  detachment  had  left  Germantown  to  aid  the  fleet 
in  an  attack  on  these  forts,  resolved  to  surprise  the  re- 
mainder. After  a  night's  march  of  fourteen  miles,  he 
entered  Germantown  at  sunrise.  A  dense  fog  concealed 


BATTLE   OF   GERMANTOWN.  425 

the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  he  was  unable  to  learn  the  CHAP. 

precise  position  of  the  enemy,  or  that  of  his  own  troops.  ' 

The  British,  taken  by  surprise  and  thrown  into  confusion,    1777. 
gave  way  on  all  sides.     The  Americans,  instead  of  pur- 
suing their  advantage,  lingered  to  attack  a  strong  stone 
house,  in  which  a  few  of  the  en&ny  had  taken  refuge, 
when  an  unaccountable  panic  seized  them  :  the  complete    Qet. 
victory  within  their  grasp  was  lost.     The  enemy  now  ral-      4- 
lied  and  attacked  in  their  turn  ;  but  the  Americans  re- 
treated without  loss,  and  carried  off  all  their  cannon  and 
their  wounded. 

Washington,  in  writing  to  Congress,  says  :  "  Every 
account  confirms  the  opinion  I  at  first  entertained,  that 
our  troops  retreated  at  the  instant  when  victory  was  de- 
claring herself  in  our  favor/'  And  such  is  the  testimony 
of  many  officers  in  their  letters  to  their  friends. 

The  effect  of  the  bold  attack  upon  Germantown  was 
soon  perceptible,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Americans.  One 
writes  :  "  Though  we  gave  away  a  complete  victory,  we 
have  learnt  this  valuable  truth,  that  we  are  able  to  beat 
them  by  vigorous  exertions,  and  that  we  are  far  superior 
in  point  of  swiftness  ;  we  are  in  high  spirits/'  Again  we 
find  expressions  of  confidence  of  a  different  character.  An 
officer  writes  :  "  For  my  own  part,  I  am  so  fully  convinced 
of  the  justice  of  the  cause  in  which  we  are  contending, 
and  that  Providence,  in  its  own  good  time,  will  succeed 
and  bless  it,  that  were  I  to  see  twelve  of  the  United 
States  overrun  by  our  cruel  invaders,  I  should  still  believe 
the  thirteenth  would  not  only  save  itself,  but  also  j|ork 
out  the  deliverance  of  the  others/' 

Howe  immediately  withdrew  his  troops  from  German- 
town.  He  must  either  obtain  possession  of  the  forts,  that 
his  fleet  might  come  up,  or  evacuate  the  city  for  want  of 
provisions.  The  Americans,  on  the  other  hand,  resolved 
to  defend  the  forts  to  the  last  extremity.  Howe  sent 
Count  Donop,  with  twelve  hundred  picked  men,  grena- 


* 


426  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


yxxn    diers,  to  make  an  assault  on  Fort  Mercer,  while  the  men- 

of-war  should  open  on  Fort  Mifflin  and  the  floating  bat- 

1777.  teries.  The  outworks  of  Fort  Mercer  were  not  fully  com- 
22 '  pleted,  when  Count  Donop  suddenly  appeared.  Colonel 
Christopher  Greene  ordered  the  men — four  hundred  Khode 
Island  Continentals— &)  keep  out  of  sight  as  much  as 
possible.  To  deceive  the  enemy,  he  made  a  short  stand 
at  the  outer  works,  and  then  retreated  rapidly  to  the  inner 
redoubt.  The  enemy  advanced  in  two  columns  ;  the 
Americans  received  them  with  a  brisk  fire,  and  then  re- 
treated in  haste.  The  Hessians  thought  the  day  their  • 
own,  and  with  shouts  of  triumph  rushed  to  storm  the  inner 
redoubt.  They  were  met  by  an  overwhelming  discharge 
of  grape-shot  and  musketry,  and  completely  repulsed,  with 
the  loss  of  four  hundred  men  ;  the  Americans  lost  but 
eight  slain  and  twenty-nine  wounded.  After  the  battle, 
as  an  American  officer  was  passing  among  the  slain,  a 
voice  called  out  :  "  Whoever  you  are,  draw  me  hence." 
It  was  Count  Donop.  A  few  days  afterward,  when  he 
felt  his  end  approaching,  he  lamented  his  condition.  "  I 
die,"  said  he,  "  the  victim  of  my  ambition,  and  of  the 
avarice  of  my  sovereign." 

Fort  Mifflin  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Samuel  Smith, 
of  Maryland.  In  their  attack  upon  it,  the  British  lost 
two  men-of-war — one  of  which  was  blown  up,  the  other 
burned. 

Meantime  the  enemy  received  reinforcements  from 
New  York,  and  were  able  to  take  possession  of  another 
island,  on  which  they  erected  batteries,  and  opened  an 
incessant  fire  upon  Fort  Mifflin.  After  a  most  undaunted 
defence,  both  forts  were  abandoned,  and  the  enemy  left  to 
,?'  remove  the  obstructions  in  the  river  at  their  leisure. 

lo. 

On  the  twenty-ninth,  Washington  retired  to  White 
Marsh,  fourteen  miles  from  Philadelphia.  Before  going 
into  winter-quarters,  Howe  thought  to  surprise  his  camp. 
A  Quaker  lady,  Mrs.  Darrah,  overheard  some  British 


WINTER   QUARTERS    AT    VALLEY    FORGE.  427 


officers  speaking  of  the  intended  expedition  ;  she  imme- 
diately  gave  Washington  information  of  what  was  going  _ 
on.     Preparations  were  made  to  give  the  British  a  warm    1777. 
reception.     A  company  was  sent  to  harass  them  on  their 
night-march.     Finding  themselves  discovered,  they  hesi- 
tated to  press  on.     The  next  day,  Howe  labored  to  draw    Dec. 
Washington  into  the  plain,  where  British  discipline  might 
be  successful.     When  he  saw  the  effort  was  useless.he 
retired  to  Philadelphia. 

Congress  now  summoned  the  militia  to  repair  to  the 
main  army.  A  few  days  after  Howe's  withdrawal  from 
Germantown,  Washington  also  retired  to  winter-quarters 
at  Valley  Forge,  a  rugged  hollow  on  the  Schuylkill,  about 
twenty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  He  could  thus  protect 
the  'Congress  at  York,  as  well  as  his  stores  at  Beading. 

We  now  turn  to  relate  events  —  most  important  in 
their  influence  —  which,  during  the  last  few  months,  had 
transpired  in  the  North. 


•_ 

. 

i 

• 


»  ,.       V 


CHAPTEK    XXXIII. 

THE  WAR  OF  THE   REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

The  Invasion  from  Canada. — Appointment  of  General  Gates. — Burgoyne's 
Advance. — Jenny  McCrea. — St.  Leger  besieges  Fort  Stanwix. — The 
Attempt  to  relieve  it. — St.  Leger  retreats. — Battle  of  Bennington. — 

^  fc     Change  of  Prospects. — Battle  of  Behmus's  Heights. — Ticonderoga  be- 
sieged.— Burgoyne  surrenders  his  Army  at  Saratoga. — The  Prisoners.- 
Capture  of  Forts  on  the  Hudson. — Schuyler. 

CHAP.  THE  unlocked  for  loss  of  Ticonderoga,  with  the  disasters 

'  that  so  rapidly  followed,  startled  the  people  of  the  north- 

1777.  ern  States  more  than  any  event  of  the  war.  So  little 
did  Congress  appreciate  the  difficulties  under  which  Schuy- 
ler and  his  officers  labored,  that  they  attributed  these 
*  misfortunes  to  their  incapacity.  John  Adams,  then  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  War,  gave  expression  to  this  feel- 
ing when  he  wrote  :  "  We  shall  never  be  able  to  defend  a 
post  till  we  shoot  a  general."  In  the  excitement  of  the 
moment,  Congress  ordered  all  the  northern  generals  to  be 
*  recalled,  and  an  inquiry  instituted  into  their  conduct. 
The  northern  army  would  thus  be  without  officers  ;  but, 
on  a  representation  to  this  effect,  Washington  obtained 
a  suspension  of  the  injudicious  order.  Clamors  against 
Schuyler  were  renewed  with  greater  violence  than  ever. 
In  truth,  many  members  of  Congress  were  influenced  by 
an  unreasonable  prejudice,  which  had  been  excited  in  New 
England  against  him.  When  Washington,  whose  confi- 
dence in  Schuyler  was  unshaken,  declined  to  make  any 


I 


BURGOYNE'S  PROCLAMATION — JENNY  M'CREA.  429 

change  in  the  Northern  Department,  "  Congress  made  the  CHAP. 

nomination  ;  the  Eastern  influence  prevailed,  and  Gates  

received  the  appointment,  so  long  the  object  of  his  aspi-    1777. 
rations,  if  not  intrigues."  1 

The  correspondence  between  Washington  and  Schuy- 
ler  makes  known  the  plan  upon  which  they  agreed  to  repel 
the  invaders.  This  was  to  keep  bodies  of  men  on  their 
flank  and  rear,  intercept  their  supplies,  and  cut  off  the 
detachments  sent  from  the  main  army.  We  shall  see  how 
completely  this  plan  succeeded. 

Confident  of  subduing  the  "  rebels/'  Burgoyne,  on  his 
arrival  at  Fort  Edward,  issued  a  second  proclamation,  in 
which  he  called  upon  the  people  to  appoint  deputies  to 
meet  in  convention  at  Castleton,  and  take  measures  to 
re-establish  the  royal  authority.  To  counteract  this, 
Schuyler  issued  a  proclamation,  threatening  to  punish 
those  as  traitors  who  in  this  manner  should  aid  the  enemy. 
Burgoyne's  proclamation  had  no  effect ;  the  hardy  yeo- 
manry were  too  patriotic.  The  whole  northern  portion  of 
the  country  was  deeply  moved,  and  the  militia  rallied 
to  arms. 

I 

The  Indians  of  Burgoyne's  army  prowled  about  the 
country,  murdering  and  scalping.  A  beautiful  girl,  Jenny 
McCrea,  the  daughter  of  a  Scotch  Presbyterian  clergy- 
man, of  New  Jersey,  who  died  before  the  war,  was  visiting 
a  friend  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Edward.  Her  family  were 
Whigs  ;  she  was,  however,  betrothed  to  a  young  man, 
David  Jones,  a  Tory,  who  had  gone  to  Canada  some  time 
before,  and  was  now  a  lieutenant  in  Burgoyne's  army. 
When  Fort  Edward  was  about  to  be  abandoned,  her 
brother  urged  her  to  leave  with  the  families  of  the  neigh-  '  )fc 
borhood,  who  were  going  out  of  danger  to  Albany.  She 
lingered  ;  she  hoped,  perhaps,  to  see  her  lover,  but  as 


1  Washington  Irving. 


430 


HISTOBY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


I       YJXITT   Danger  drew  nearer  she  prepared  to    comply  with  her 

!  brother's  request. 

1777.  At  the  moment  of  leaving,  a  band  of  Indians,  sent  by 
Burgoyne  to  harass  the  Americans,  burst  into  the  house, 
and  carried  her  off  a  captive.  Anxious  for  her  safety,  she 
promised  her  captors  a  reward,  if  they  would  take  her  to 
the  British  camp.  On  the  way,  the  Indians  quarrelled  as 
to  who  should  have  the  promised  reward,  and  one  of  them 
in  a  rage  killed  the  poor  girl,  and  carried  off  her  scalp. 
This  murder  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  throughout  the  land. 
The  people  remembered  the  murders  of  former  days,  when 
the  Indians  were  urged  on  by  French  influence  ;  and  now 
they  asked,  Must  those  scenes  be  re-enacted  by  the  savage 
hirelings  of  England,  our  mother  country?  And  they 
flocked  in  thousands  to  repel  such  an  enemy.  Thus  "  the 
blood  of  this  unfortunate  girl  was  not  shed  in  vain.  Ar- 
mies sprang  up  from  it.  Her  name  passed  as  a  note  of 
alarm  along  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  ;  it  was  a  rallying- 
ing  word  among  the  green  mountains  of  Vermont,  and 
brought  down  all  her  hardy  yeomanry/'  l 

St.  Leger  had  passed  up  the  Oswego,  and  was  besieg- 
ing Fort  Stanwix,  or  Schuyler.     This  fort  was  on   the 

Aug.  Mohawk,  at  the  carrying-place  to  Lake  Oneida.  With 
St.  Leger  was  Sir  John  Johnson,  with  his  Koyal  Greens, 
and  his  savage  retainers,  the  Mohawks,  under  the  cele- 
brated chief,  Brant.  This  Brant  had  been  a  pupil  in 
Wheelock's  school— since  Dartmouth  College — establish- 
ed for  the  education  of  Indians  and  others.  The  fort  was 
held  by  two  New  York  regiments,  under  Colonels  Ganse- 
voort  and  Willet.  General  Herkimer  raised  the  militia 
of  the  neighborhood,  and  went  to  relieve  the  fort.  But 
owing  to  the  impatience  of  his  men,  he  fell  into  an  ambus- 
cade of  Tories  and  Indians.  Johnson's  Greens  were  Tories 
from  this  vicinity,  and  neighbor  met  neighbor  in  deadly 

1  Washington  Irving. 

v  * 


*     ; 

fe    * 

DEATH  OF  HERKIMER  —  RETREAT  OF  ST.  LEGER.       431 

conflict.     It  was  one  of  the  most  desperate  encounters  of   CHAP. 

the  war  ;  quarter  was  neither  given  nor  asked.     There  _  ' 

were  instances,  when  all  was  over,  where  the  death-grasp    1777. 

still  held  the  knife  plunged  into  a  neighbor's  heart.     It  * 

seems  as  if  the  fight  had  been  presided  over  by  demons.  %    • 

The  brave  old  Herkimer  was  mortally  wounded,  but  lean- 

ing against  a  tree,  he  continued  to  encourage  his  men,  till 

a  successful  sortie  from  the  fort  compelled  the  enemy  to 

defend  their  own  camp.    The  Americans  retreated,  taking 

with  them  their  worthy  commander,  who  died  a  few  days 

after. 

The  fort  was  still  in  a  precarious  condition,  and  must 
be  relieved.  When  intelligence  of  this  came  to  the  army, 
Arnold  volunteered  to  march  to  its  aid.  To  frighten  the 
Indians  he  employed  stratagem.  He  sent  in  advance  the 
most  exaggerated  stories  of  the  number  of  his  men,  and 
proclaimed  that  Burgoyne  had  been  totally  defeated.  As 
anticipated,  the  Indians  deserted  in  great  numbers.  The 
panic  became  so  great,  that  two  days  before  Arnold  arrived 
at  the  fort,  St.  Leger  had  retreated,  leaving  his  tents 
standing.  2!' 

General  Schuyler  now  moved  from  Saratoga  down  to  4 
the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk,  and  there  intrenched  himself. 
The  British  had  the  full  command  of  Lake  George  ;  but, 
with  all  their  exertions,  they  were  nearly  out  of  provisions. 
The  distance  from  the  upper  end  of  that  lake  to  the  Hud- 
son was  only  eighteen  miles,  but  so  effectively  had  the 
draft-cattle  and  horses  been  removed,  that  it  seemed  al- 
most impossible  to  transport  their  baggage. 

. 

To  obtain  horses  for  a  company  of  dismounted  German 
dragoons,  and  seize  stores  collected  at  Bennington,  Ver- 
mont, Burgoyne  sent  a  detachment  of  Indians  and  Tories, 


and   five   hundred    Germans,  under    Lieutenant-colonel 
deposited  in  that  place  were  but  poorly  guarded.    He  was 


Baum.     He  had  been  told  that  the  grain  and  provisions 


J 

" 


432  HISTOKY   OF   THE  UNITED    STATES. 


jpjrffin   also  made  to  believe  that  five  to  one  of  the  people  were 

royalists. 

1TT7.          It  was  soon  noised  abroad  that  the  enemy  were  on  the 
way,  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  began  to  assemble. 
If  £  Colonel  Stark  having  been  slighted,  as  he  thought,  at  the 

recent  appointment  of  officers  by  Congress,  had  withdrawn 
from  the  Continental  army.  He  was  invited  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  assembling  yeomanry  ;  he  accepted  the  invi- 
tation with  joy.  Expresses  were  sent  in  every  direction 
to  warn  the  people  to  drive  off  their  cattle  and  horses,  and 
conceal  their  grain  and  wagons,  and  also  to  Manchester, 
for  Seth  Warner  to  hasten  to  Bennington  with  his  regi- 
ment. 

When  Baum — who  moved  very  slowly,  his  men  stop- 
.  ping  in  the  woods  every  few  minutes  to  dress  their  lines — 
14.  was  within  six  miles  of  Bennington,  he  heard  of  Stark's 
approach  ;  he  halted,  began  to  intrench,  and  sent  to  Bur- 
goyne  for  reinforcements.  Colonel  Breyman  was  sent  to 
his  aid,  with  five  hundred  Hessians  and  two  field-pieces. 
A  severe  storm  prevented  Stark  from  making  an  attack, 
and  also  retarded  the  march  of  Breyman  and  Warner. 
»  During  the  night  the  Berkshire  militia  joined  Stark.  An 
incident  may  show  the  spirit  of  the  times  :  "  Among  these 
militia  was  a  belligerent  parson,  full  of  fight,  Allen  by 
name,  possibly  of  the  bellicose  family  of  the  hero  of  Ticon- 
deroga."  l  "  General,"  cried  he,  "  the  people  of  Berkshire 
have  been  often  called  out  to  no  purpose  ;  if  you  don't 
give  them  a  chance  to  fight  now  they  will  never  turn  out 
again."  "  You  would  not  turn  out  now,  while  it  is  dark 
and  raining,  would  you  ?  "  demanded  Stark.  "  Not  just 
now,"  was  the  reply.  "  Well,  if  the  Lord  should  once 
more  give  us  sunshine,  and  I  don't  give  you  fighting 
enough,"  rejoined  the  veteran,  "  111  never  ask  you  to  turn 
out  again." 

4r     | 

Irving. 


, 

BATTLE   OF    BENNINGTON CHANGE    OF   PROSPECTS.  433 


The  next  morning  the  sun  did  shine,  and  Stark  drew 
out  his  forces.  When  he  came  in  sight  of  the  enemy, 
turning  to  his  men  he  exclaimed  :  "  There  are  the  red-  1777. 
coats  !  We  must  beat  to-day,  or  Molly  Stark's  a  widow.'^ 
The  attack  was  made  in  both  rear  and  front  at  the  same 
time.  The  Indians  and  Tories  generally  fled  to  the  woods. 
Baum  defended  his  lines  with  great  determination,  and 
his  field-pieces  were  well  manned,  but  after  two  hours' 
fighting,  the  works  were  stormed.  The  Americans  had 
no  artillery,  but  they  rushed  up  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
enemy's  cannon,  the  better  to  take  aim  at  the  gunners. 
At  length  Baum  fell  mortally  wounded,  and  his  men  sur- 
rendered. 

Scarcely  was  the  battle  ended,  when  Breyman  appeared 
on  the  one  side,  and  Warner,  who  had  marched  all  night 
in  the  rain,  on  the  other.  The  fighting  was  renewed,  and 
continued  till  night.  Favored  by  the  darkness,  Breyman 
left  his  artillery  and  made  the  best  of  his  way  back  to 
Burgoyne.  About  two  hundred  of  the  enemy  were  slain, 
and  six  hundred  taken  prisoners.  A  thousand  stand  of 
arms  and  four  pieces  of  artillery  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Americans,  who  had  but  fourteen  killed  and  forty  wounded. 

What  a  change  a  few  weeks  had  produced  in  the  pros- 
pects of  the  two  main  armies  !  To  the  American,  the 
militia  were  flocking,  the  brigades  from  the  Highlands  had 
arrived,  and  Morgan  with  that  terror  of  the  Indians,  his 
riflemen,  five  hundred  strong.  Disasters,  in  the  mean 
while,  crowded  upon  Burgoyne.  The  side  enterprises  of 
St.  Leger  and  Baum  had  failed  ;  the  New  Hampshire  and 
Massachusetts  troops  were  pressing  on  toward  Ticonderoga 
to  cut  off  his  supplies  and  intercourse  with  Canada.  The 
Indians,  in  great  numbers,  were  deserting.  They  had 
taken  umbrage  because  their  atrocities  were  to  be  hereafter 
restrained.  Burgoyne  was  a  gentleman,  humane  and  cul- 
tivated ;  he  abhorred  these  outrages,  and,  to  his  honor  be 
it  said,  preferred  that  the  savages  should  leave  his  army, 

28 


* 


. 

HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

rather  than  they  should  remain  and  be  unrestrained.    The 
disgrace  of  employing  them  belongs  to  his  government  at 
1777.    home,  not  to  him. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Gates  arrived  to  take 

F  4  command.     He  found  the  army  in  high  spirits,  nearly  six 

g         thousand  in  number,  and  increasing  every  day.     Schuyler 

met  him  with  his  usual  highminded  courtesy,  explained 

fully  the  condition  of  the  two  armies,  and  offered  him  all 

the  assistance  he  could  give,  by  his  counsel  or  otherwise. 

So  little  could  Gates  appreciate  such  generous  impulses, 

that,  a  few  days  after,  when  he  called  his  first  council  of 

war,  he  omitted  to  invite  Schuyler. 

Leaving  the  islands  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk, 

k  Gates  moved  up  the  river  and  took  position  on  Behmus's 

Heights — a  ridge  of  hills  extending  close  to  the  river-bank 
and  lying  just  south  of  Saratoga.  There  he  intrenched 
his  army  by  strong  batteries  on  the  right  and  left. 

Burgoyne  had  thrown  a  bridge  of  boats  over  the  Hud- 
son, and  led  over  the  English  portion  of  his  army  to  Sara- 
toga, while  the  Hessians  remained  on  the  eastern  side. 
Both  divisions  moved  slowly  down  the  river.  There  were 
deep  ravines  and  woods  between  the  two  armies,  and  knolls 
covered  with  dense  forests ;  also,  in  one  place,  a  cleared 
field.  On  the  nineteenth  it  was  announced  that  the 
enemy  were  in  motion  toward  the  American  left.  Here 
Arnold  commanded,  while  Gates  took  charge  of  the  right. 
It  was  the  intention  of  the  British  to  draw  the  Americans 
in  that  direction,  and  then  to  make  an  assault  on  their 
centre,  when  thus  weakened,  and  cut  their  way  through 
to  Albany.  Gates  designed  to  wait  the  attack  in  his 
camp,  but  Arnold  wished  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check,  and 
not  permit  them  to  turn  the  American  left.  After  much 
solicitation,  he  obtained  permission  from  Gates  to  send 
Morgan  with  his  riflemen  to  check  the  enemy.  The  rifle- 
^g^  nj£n  soon  met,  and  put  to  flight  the  advance-guard,  but 
pursuing  them  with  two  much  ardor  they  came  upon  a 

* 


J»** 

* 


, 

BATTLE    OF    BEHMUS'S   HEIGHTS.  435 

strong  column,  and  were  themselves  forced  to  fall  back  in    CHAP. 

confusion.     Arnold  now  came  to  their  aid  with  other  regi-  ' 

ments,  and  soon  he  was  contending  almost  hand  to  hand  1777. 
with  the  entire  British  right  wing.  He  sent  repeatedly 
to  Gates  for  reinforcements,  which  the  latter  refused  to 
send,  and  excused  himself  on  the  ground  that  he  would 
thus  weaken  his  own  wing  ;  and  Arnold,  with  only  three 
thousand  men,  was  left  for  four  hours  to  sustain  the  attack. 
The  severest  conflict  was  around,  and  in  the  open  field. 
The  Americans  were  posted  on  the  one  side  in  a  dense 
wood,  where  cannon  could  not  be  used  ;  the  British  on 
the  opposite  side  in  a  thin  pine  grove,  where  they  could 
use  their  artillery.  When  the  British  would  move  into 
the  field,  the  American  riflemen  would  drive  them  back, 
and  when  the  Americans  became  the  pursuers,  the  British 
would  sweep  their  ranks  with  their  cannon.  A  dozen 
times  this  field  was  lost  and  won.  The  riflemen  repeat- 
edly took  possession  of  the  British  artillery,  but  the  rough- 
ness of  the  ground  would  not  permit  them  to  secure  the 
guns  ;  and  before  they  could  turn  them,  they  themselves 
were  driven  off  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Mght  ended 
the  contest  ;  the  Americans  withdrew  to  their  camp,  and 
the  British  remained  on  the  field  of  battle.  The  latter 
lost  more  than  five  hundred,  while  the  Americans  lost 
less  than  three  hundred.  They  looked  upon  the  result  as 
a  triumph  ;  they  had  accomplished  all  they  intended,  and 
the  enemy  had  failed  in  their  designs. 

Two  days  before  the  battle  of  Behmus's  Heights,  a 
detachment  of  Lincoln's  militia,  under  Colonel  Brown, 
had  seized  the  posts  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  George  ;  also  a 
fleet  of  bateaux  laden  with  provisions  for  Burgoyne's  ar-f  •' 
my,  and  three  hundred  prisoners.  The  same  party  united 
with  another,  and  laid  siege  to  Ticonderoga. 

Burgoyne's  intercourse  with  Canada  was  thus  cut  off; 
his  provisions  were  fast  diminishing,  and  his  horses  were 
dying  for  want  of  forage.  At  this  moment  of  darkness 

tr 


* 


436  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,   came  a  gleam  of  light — a  note  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton — 

informing  him  that  in  a  few  days  he  would  make  an  effort 

1777.  to  ascend  the  Hudson.  In  hopes  of  maintaining  his  posi- 
tion until  Clinton  could  relieve  him,  Burgoyne  began  to 
fortify  his  camp.  For  nearly  three  weeks  the  two  armies 
watched  each  other.  Almost  every  day  advanced  parties 
skirmished,  but  as  Gates  was  deficient  in  ammunition,  he 
hesitated  to  attack. 

Meantime  there  was  trouble  in  the  American  camp. 
The  soldiers  attributed  the  success  of  the  late  battle  to 
generalship  of  Arnold.  But  for  some  reason,  jealousy 
perhaps,  Gates  removed  him  from  his  command. 

Hearing  nothing  further  from  Clinton,  Burgoyne  re- 
solved to  risk  a  battle,  and  cut  his  way  through  the  oppos- 
ing force.  He  therefore  sent  a  detachment  of  fifteen 
hundred  picked  men  to  take  position  within  a  mile  of  the 
Oct.  American  lines.  A  New  Hampshire  brigade  attacked 
this  division  furiously,  and  Morgan,  with  his  riflemen, 
managed  to  cut  them  off  from  their  camp. 

Arnold  was  in  his  tent,  brooding  over  the  treatment 
he  had  received,  .and  had  almost  resolved  to  leave  the 
army.  Suddenly  he  heard  the  noise  of  battle  ;  his  ruling 
passion  was  instantly  on  fire.  Mounting  his  horse,  he  rode 
with  all  speed  to  the  scene  of  conflict.  Gates,  who  saw 
him  as  he  dashed  away,  exclaimed  :  "  He  will  do  some 
rash  thing,"  and  sent  after  him  orders,  by  Major  Wilkin- 
son, to  return  ;  but  in  vain, — Arnold  heard  only  the  roar 
of  battle.  He  rushed  into  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  cheered 
on  the  men,  who  answered  him  with  shouts  of  recognition. 
To  those  looking  on,  he  seemed  insane.  By  his  exertions 
the  British  lines  were  broken  again  and  again,  but  as  often 
General  Frazer  would  rally  his  men  and  renew  the  conflict. 
Presently  Frazer  fell  mortally  wounded  by  one  of  Morgan's 
riflemen.  The  whole  line  gave  way,  abandoned  their  can- 
non, and  with  the  greatest  effort  regained  their  camp.  In 


437 


spite  of  a  shower  of  grape  and  musketry,  the  Americans 
rushed  headlong  to  the  assault.  Arnold  rode  directly  into 
a  sally-port,  where  his  horse  was  shot  under  him,  and  he  1V77. 
himself  was  severely  wounded  —  a  ball  had  shattered  his 
leg.  His  men  now  fell  back.  A  regiment  of  Massachu- 
setts men,  more  fortunate,  forced  their  way  through  the 
German  intrenchments,  and  maintained  their  position  for 
the  night,  and  secured  a  large  amount  of  ammunition. 

The  Americans  slept  on  their  arms,  intending  to  renew 
the  contest  in  the  morning.  But  when  morning  came, 
Burgoyne's  army,  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle,  appeared 
on  the  heights  in  the  rear.  During  the  night,  he  had 
abandoned  his  sick  and  wounded,  and  skilfully  led  off  his 
men.  The  next  day  he  retreated  to  Saratoga,  six  miles 
distant.  It  was  to  cover  this  retreat  that  he  ordered  Gen- 
eral Sehuyler's  mansion  and  extensive  saw  mills  to  be 
burned.  That  he  might  continue  his  retreat,  he  sent  a 
party  to  repair  the  bridges  toward  Fort  Edward,  but  they 
found  the  way  occupied  by  the  Americans,  who  had  taken 
nearly  all  the  boats  laden  with  provisions  for  his  army. 
All  the  passes  by  which  he  could  extricate  himself  were 
in  the  hands  of  his  enemy  ;  cannon-balls  and  bullets  fell 
almost  every  moment  in  his  camp.  He  had  only  three 
days'  provisions  ;  his  effective  force  was  reduced  to  four 
thousand  men,  and  they  were  dispirited,  worn  out  with 
hunger  and  fatigue.  Not  a  word  had  he  heard  from  Clin- 
ton, while  the  American  army,  already  twelve  thousand 
strong,  was  increasing  daily. 

Burgoyne  now  called  a  council  of  war,  which  resolved 
to  open  negotiations  with  General  Gates.  Having  heard 
that  Clinton,  a  few  days  previous,  had  succeeded  in  taking  Oct. 
two  of  the  forts  on  the  Hudson,  and  that  he  might  possi- 
bly reach  Albany,  Gates  was  disposed  to  make  liberal 
terms.  The  conditions  of  the  surrender  were  :  That  the 
British  army  should  march  out  with  the  honors  of  war  '} 
that  the  soldiers  should  be  taken  to  Boston,  and  thence 


438  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


xmn   *°  -^nglan(l  )   and  they  were  not  to  serve   against   the 

--   United  States  until  exchanged.     The  numher  of  prisoners 

1777.    was  about  six  thousand  ;  the  arms,  artillery,  and  military 

stores  were  immense.     The  German  regiments  saved  their 

colors  ;  they  took  them  off  their  staves,  and   concealed 

them  among  the  baggage  of  the  Baroness  de  Kiedesel.1 

The  British  garrison  of  Ticonderoga  evacuated  that  place 

and  retired  to  Canada. 

H  Congress  refused  to  ratify  the  terms  under  which  Bur- 
goyne  surrendered.  His  soldiers,  if  taken  to  England, 
would  doubtless  be  placed  in  garrison,  while  those  thus 
relieved  would  be  sent  to  reinforce  Clinton  at  New  York. 
Only  Burgoyne  himself,  with  two  attendants,  was  per- 
mitted to  proceed  to  England,  while  the  soldiers  were 
retained  as  prisoners.  The  following  year  they  were 
marched  to  Charlottesville,  in  Virginia,  where  they  were 
quartered  in  log  huts,  and  where  the  greater  number  of 
them  remained  till  the  close  of  the  war. 

As  has  been  already  stated,  the  garrisons  in  the  High- 
lands were  much  weakened,  by  sending  detachments  both 
to  the  North  and  to  the  South.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had 
received  the  long  expected  reinforcements  from  England, 
and  he  now  proposed  to  force  his  way  up  the  Hudson,  in 
order  to  unite  with  Burgoyne.  On  the  day  before  that 
general's  last  battle,  Clinton  attacked  and  captured  the 
Oct.  Forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton.  Though  the  New  York 
militia  turned  out  well,  the  forts  could  not  be  maintained. 
Governor  George  Clinton  commanded.  He  sent  to  Put- 
nam for  aid,  which  he  would  have  received  had  not  the 
messenger  turned  traitor,  and  deserted  to  the  enemy. 
Under  the  directions  of  Governor  Tryon,  Kingston,  or 
Esopus,  was  burned.  When  these  marauders  heard  that 


1  This  lady  accompanied  her  husband,  Baron  de  Riedesel,  during  this 
campaign.  She  has  left  a  thrilling  narrative  of  the  trying  scenes  at  Sara- 
toga. 


SCHUYLER    A    MEMBER   OF    CONGRESS.  439 


Burgoyne  had  surrendered.,  they  retreated,  setting  fire  to 
every  house  within  reach.  This  was  about  the  very  time 
that  Burgoyne  and  his  army  were  receiving  liberal  terms 
of  capitulation. 

General  Gates,  in  transmitting  his  report  of  the  sur- 
render, did  not  send  it  to  the  Commander-in-chief,  as  was  * 

his  duty,  and  as  courtesy  required,  but  sent  it  directly  to 
Congress.  The  soldiers  in  the  army  attributed  the  success 
of  the  battles  at  Saratoga  to  the  skilful  management  of 
Arnold  and  Morgan.  Gates  did  not  even  mention  their 
names  in  his  full  dispatches  to  Congress. 

Soon  after,  General  Schuyler  insisted  that  his  manage- 
ment of  the  Northern  Department,  previous  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  Gates,  should  be  investigated. 

A  Court  of  Inquiry  was  instituted,  and  he  was  not 
only  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  mismanagement  of  any 
kind,  but  with  the  highest  honor.  Though  strongly  urged 
by  Congress  to  remain  in  the  army,  he  declined.  He  had 
too  much  self-respect  to  continue  in  a  position  where  he 
could  be  made  a  victim  of  unfriendly  prejudice,  yet  too 
patriotic  to  relinquish  his  country's  cause.  Soon  after  he 
took  his  seat  as  a  member  of  Congress. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

WAR  OP  THE  REVOLUTION—  CONTINUED. 

Sufferings  at  Yalley  Forge.  —  England  disappointed  ;  conciliatory  measures 
of  Parliament.  —  The  War  presses  hard  upon  the  American  People.  — 
Difficulties  and  Jealousies  in  Congress.  —  The  "  Conway  Cabal."  —  Baron 
Steuben.  —  Attempt  to  increase  the  Army.  —  Congress  in  Want  of 
Funds.  —  Exchange  of  Lee;  his  Treason.  —  Treaty  with  France.  —  En- 

V  couragements.  —  British  Commissioners.  —  Philadelphia  evacuated.  —  Bat- 
tie  of  Monmouth.  —  Misconduct  of  Lee.  —  The  French  Fleet.  —  Combined 
attack  upon  Newport  fails.  —  Marauding  Expeditions.  —  A  British  Fleet.  — 
Massacre  at  Wyoming  and  Cherry  Yalley.  —  Invasion  of  Georgia. 


surren^er  °f  Burgoyne  revived  the  hopes  of  the 
Whigs,  and  sent  dismay  into  the  ranks  of  the  Tories. 
1778.  The  American  soldiers  suffered  intensely  in  their  rude 
huts  at  Yalley  Forge.  For  days  at  a  time  without  meat, 
and  again  without  bread  ;  no  medicines  for  the  sick,  nor 
comfortable  lodgings.  Many  of  the  soldiers  were  so  defi- 
cient in  clothes  that  they  could  not  lie  down,  lest  they 
should  freeze  to  death,  but  were  forced  to  sit  round  their 
camp-fires. 

These  were  the  men,  few  of  whose  names  have  ever 
reached  us,  but  who  clung  to  their  country's  cause  in  this 
hour  of  suffering,  and  who,  in  the  day  of  battle,  poured 
out  their  life's  blood.  They  were,  for  the  most  part,  the 
intelligent  yeomanry  of  the  land  ;  from  the  farm,  from  the 
workshop,  from  the  merchant's  store  ;  supporters  of  their 
own  families,  or  sustakiers  of  orphan  brothers  and  sisters. 
What  a  contrast  with  the  common  soldiers  of  the  invading 


THE   FRIENDS   OF    AMERICA   IN   PARLIAMENT.  441 

army  !     They  were,  in  part,  the  enlisted   rabble  of  the  CHAP. 

British  Isles.     In  their  bosoms  there  was  not  a  throb  of   ! 

generous  feeling,  nor  with  them  was  it  a  question  in  what    1VV8. 
cause,  or  on  what  field  they  fought  ;  and  yet  in  the  same 
army  were  others,  even  more  degraded,  drawn  from  "  the 
shambles  of  petty  German  despots/' 

The  king  and  ministry  were  sanguine  their  plans,  so 
wisely  laid,  would  be  successfully  carried  out  ;  that  at  the 
end  of  the  campaign  the  American  army  would  be  broken 
and  scattered  ;  that  they  would  have  a  line  of  posts  ex- 
tending from  Lake  Champlain  to  the  Bay  of  New  York. 
Instead  of  the  realization  of  these  hopes,  intelligence  came 
that  Burgoyne  had  surrendered  his  entire  army.  The 
sensation  produced  in  England  was  great  indeed.  Eumors 
stole  into  the  country,  that  France,  their  ancient  enemy, 
was  about  to  aid  the  Americans  ;  that  Holland  was  about 
to  loan  them  money.  England's  pride  was  touched. 
Should  she,  who  had  made  all  Europe  tremble,  be  baffled 
in  her  efforts  to  subdue  her  revolted  colonists  ?  A  new 
spirit  was  awakened  ;  many  of  the  large  commercial  towns 
offered  to  raise  regiments  to  supply  the  places  of  those 
surrendered  at  Saratoga,  and  present  them  to  the  king. 
Yet  there  were  others,  moved  by  compassion,  and  it  may 
be  by  sympathy  for  the  cause,  who  liberally  subscribed 
money  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the  American  prisoners  in 
England,  whom  the  government  had  left  to  suffer  for  the 
necessaries  of  life. 

These  sentiments  had  their  effect  on  Parliament,  and 
when  it  assembled,  the  friends  of  America  renewed  their 
assaults  upon  the  policy  of  the  king.  They,  from  the  first, 
had  opposed  the  war  as  unjust,  and  had  opposed  the  en- 
listing of  Hessians  ;  but  more  especially  did  they  denounce 
the  inhuman  policy  of  employing  savages  to  murder  and 
scalp  their  brethren  beyond  the  Atlantic.  There  were 
other  causes  of  complaint.  The  merchants  clamored  for 


442  HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


redress  ;  the  American  trade  was  broken  up  ;  debts  could 
-  not  be  collected  ;  especially  were  they  aggrieved  that 
1778.  the  slave-trade  had  been  reduced  four-fifths.  American 
cruisers  had  already  seized  nearly  six  hundred  of  their 
vessels.  These  cruisers  swarmed  to  such  an  extent,  even 
in  the  British  seas,  that  it  became  necessary  to  convoy  by 
armed  ships  merchant  vessels  from  one  port  of  the  king- 
dom to  another.  More  than  twenty  thousand  men  had 
perished  in  the  war  ;  more  than  a  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  had  been  expended  ;  their  expectations  had  been 
greatly  raised,  but  as  yet  nothing  was  gained. 

Lord  North  was  constrained  to  bring  in  two  bills,  by 
which  the  king  hoped  to  reconcile  his  American  subjects. 
On  this  occasion,  the  former  declared  in  the  House  that 
he  himself  had  always  been  opposed  to  taxing  the  colonies. 
The  king,  in  truth,  was  the  prime  mover  and  sustainer  of 
the  measure.  One  of  these  bills  exempted  the  Americans 
from  taxation,  the  other  appointed  commissioners  to  nego- 
tiate with  them,  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  the  royal 
authority.  Thus  was  yielded,  but  ungraciously,  the  whole 
ground  of  the  contest. 

The  moment  the  French  government  heard  of  the 
passage  of  these  bills,  it  proposed  to  acknowledge  the  In- 
dependence of  the  United  States,  and  to  make  with  them 
a  treaty  offensive  and  defensive.  That  the  belligerents 
should  fight  and  weaken  each  other,  France  was  willing, 
but  rather  than  they  should  become  reconciled,  she  de- 
clared for  the  Americans. 

Though  the  war  had  cost  England  much,  it  had  cost 
the  Americans  more.  In  many  portions  of  the  country, 
their  ruthless  invaders  had  laid  waste  their  cultivated 
fields  ;  in  other  portions  they  were  unsown,  because  the 
husbandmen  were  in  the  army  ;  property  was  wasting 
away  ;  debts  were  accumulating,  with  no  prospect  of  pay- 
ment. The  bills  of  credit  issued  by  Congress  were  almost 


* 

** 


THE  EMBARRASSMENTS  OF  CONGRESS.  443 


worthless.  As  with  individuals,  so  with  the  State  ;  both 
were  bankrupt.  On  the  sea-board,  foreign  commerce,  the 
coasting  trade,  and  the  fisheries,  were  carried  on  at  such  1778. 
risks,  as  to  be  almost  annihilated.  Nine  hundred  vessels 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  loss  of  life 
had  been  great  ;  not  so  many  had  perished  on  the  field  of 
battle,  but  disease,  the  deficiency  of  necessary  comforts  in 
hospitals,  the  want  of  clothes  and  of  wholesome  food,  had 
as  effectively  done  the  work  of  death.  Multitudes  died 
miserably,  either  in  the  jails  and  loathsome  prison-ships 
of  the  enemy,  or  contracted  diseases  which  clung  to  them 
through  life.  These  calamities,  instead  of  depressing  the 
patriots,  roused  their  indignant  spirits  to  more  determina- 
tion. They  would  listen  to  no  terms  of  reconciliation 
with  England,  short  of  absolute  independence. 

Congress  was  embarrassed  more  and  more.  That  no- 
ble spirit  of  conciliation  and  mutual  forbearance,  which 
distinguished  the  members  of  the  Old  Congress,  was  not 
so  prominent.  Many  of  the  ablest  members  had  retired 
to  take  part  in  the  recently  organized  governments  of  their 
own  States,  or  to  attend  to  their  private  affairs,  lest  their 
families  should  come  to  want  ;  and  some  had  been  sent 
on  foreign  missions,  and  some  were  in  the  army. 

There  were  other  difficulties  ;  jealousies  between  north- 
ern and  southern  men  still  existed  in  the  army,  and  jeal- 
ousies between  American  officers  and  some  of  those  of 
foreign  birth.  Congress,  now  numbering  not  more  than 
twenty  or  thirty  members,  manifested  an  undue  prejudice 
against  the  army,  because  the  officers  and  soldiers  earnestly 
urged  that  their  wants  should  be  supplied.  Washington 
protested  against  this  spirit,  and  showed  the  unreasona- 
bleness of  such  a  prejudice.  After  remarking  that  in  other 
countries  the  army  was  looked  upon  with  suspicion  in  time 
of  peace,  he  adds  :  "  It  is  our  policy  to  be  prejudiced 
against  them  (the  troops)  in  time  of  war  ;  though  they 


444  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

rmv'  are  c^zens?  Caving  all  the  ties  and  interests  of  citizens." 

!  In  violation  of  military  usage,  and  contrary  to  his  advice, 

1778.  Congress  made  several  promotions  in  the  army,  which  not 

only  slighted  but  wronged  some  of  its  best  and  bravest 

officers. 

While  Washington  labored  at  Valley  Forge  to  keep 
the  army  together,  and  to  prevent  its  disbanding  from 
sheer  necessity,  a  few  were  intriguing  to  remove  him  from 
the  command.  Some  members  of  Congress,  a  few  officers, 
and  perhaps  some  others,  joined  in  what  was  known  as  the 
"  Conway  Cabal,"  a  name  derived  from  the  Irish  adven- 
turer, already  mentioned,  who,  if  not  the  prime  mover  in 
the  plot,  was  a  pliant  tool  of  others.  The  whole  truth  on 
the  subject  can  never  be  fully  known,  as  each  actor  ever 
after  desired  to  conceal  the  part  he  had  taken  in  the  affair. 
By  means  of  anonymous  letters,  underhand  appeals,  de- 
signed to  seduce  the  officers  of  the  army,  and  other  dis- 
honorable measures,  the  attempt  was  made  to  defame 
Washington  ;  to  draw  invidious  comparisons  between  his 
military  successes  and  those  of  Gates  ;  and  to  destroy 
that  confidence  which  the  people  and  soldiers  reposed  in 
his  integrity.  They  dared  not  attack  him  openly,  but  by 
these  means  they  hoped  to  disgust  him  with  his  office,  and 
induce  him  to  resign  ;  and  General  Gates,  their  hero, 
would  receive  the  appointment  of  Commander-in-chief. 
Thus  the  intrigue  was  carried  on  for  months.  General 
Mifflin  and  Gates  himself  were  prominent  in  the  scheme, 
but  their  efforts  to  win  over  Lafayette  signally  failed. 
Anonymous  letters  were  sent  to  Henry  Laurens,  President 
of  Congress,  and  to  Patrick  Henry,  then  Governor  of  Vir- 
ginia ;  but  these  high-minded  men  forwarded  them  at 
once  to  the  Commander-in-chief.  Washington  himself, 
though  he  knew,  to  some  extent,  of  the  existence  of  these 
plots,  never  publicly  noticed  them,  nor  turned  aside  a  mo- 
ment from  his  great  work.  He  was  only  anxious  lest  the 


THE   CONWAY   CABAL.  445 


enemy  should  learn  of  these  dissensions.     But  when  it  CHAP. 

XXXIV 

was  proposed  in  Congress  to  appoint  Conway  inspector  of  ', 

the  army,  he  remonstrated,  and  in  writing  to  Richard  1778. 
Henry  Lee,  then  a  member,  he  says  :  "  General  Conway's 
merit  as  an  officer,  and  his  importance  in  this  army,  exist 
more  in  his  own  imagination  than  in  reality."  Yet  Con- 
gress, under  the  influence  of  the  Cabal,  appointed  Con- 
way  "  Inspector  of  the  Armies  of  the  United  States  ! " 
— with  the  rank  of  major-general. 

Ere  long  intelligence  of  these  intrigues  stole  abroad..** 
So  great  was  the  indignation  which  burst  forth  from  the 
officers  and  soldiers,  from  the  Legislatures  of  the  States, 
and  from  the  people  themselves,  that  the  Cabal  cowered 
before  it. 

The  effect  of  this  abortive  attempt  to  remove  Wash- 
ington from  the  chief  command  was  only  to  strengthen  his 
hold  on  the  confidence  of  the  nation.  The  invidious  com- 
parisons made  between  his  successes  and  those  of  Gates, 
were  unjust,  but  that  some  persons  should  be  influenced 
by  them  is  not  strange.  "  The  Washington  of  that  day 
was  not  Washington  as  we  know  him,  tried  and  proved 
by  twenty  years  of  the  most  disinterested  and  most  suc- 
cessful public  services."  The  capture  of  Burgoyne  at 
Saratoga  was  due  to  his  plan  of  defence,  as  concerted  with 
Schuyler,  and  not  to  General  Gates.  In  his  effort  to  save 
Philadelphia,  he  was  surrounded  with  almost  insurmount- 
able difficulties.  His  army,  ill-equipped  and  imperfectly 
disciplined,  was  smaller  than  that  of  Howe's ;  the  scene 
of  operation  was  in  a  region  filled  with  Tories,  who  gave 
every  facility  to  the  British.  He  says  himself :  "  Had  the 
same  spirit  pervaded  the  people  of  this  and  the  neighbor- 
ing States,  as  the  States  of  New  York  and  New  England, 
we  might  have  had  General  Howe  nearly  in  the  same  sit- 
uation of  General  Burgoyne." 

JBb^ 

We  may  here  anticipate.     Conway  found  his  position 


446  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

mav  unenvia^e?  an(*  ^e  sent  to  Congress  a  note  complaining 
-  that  he  had  been  ill-treated,  and  intimated  that  he  would 

1778.  resign  because  he  was  ordered  to  the  Northern  Depart- 
ment. His  self-complacency  never  doubted  but  he  would 
be  urged  to  remain  as  "  Inspector."  But  Congress, 
ashamed  of  having  ever  appointed  him,  interpreted  it  as 
a  resignation,  and  gladly  accepted  it.  No  explanation  of 
Conway,  though  urged  in  person,  could  induce  them  to 
change  their  decision.  Some  time  afterward  he  was 
wounded  in  a  duel  with  General  Cadwallader,  who  had 
charged  him  with  cowardice  at  the  battle  of  Germantown, 
and  also  of  derogatory  remarks  in  relation  to  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief. When  he  thought  himself  near  death, 
Conway  wrote  to  Washington  :  "  You  are  in  my  eyes  the 
great  and  good  man.  May  you  long  enjoy  the  love,  ven- 
eration, and  esteem  of  these  States,  whose  liberties  you 
have  asserted  by  your  virtues."  He  recovered  from  his 
wound,  and  soon  after  he  left  the  country. 

During  the  winter  at  Valley  Forge,  every  effort  was 
made  to  increase  the  army,  and  make  it  more  efficient. 
To  accomplish  this  end,  Baron  Steuben,  a  Prussian  officer 
of  great  merit  as  a  disciplinarian,  was  appointed  Inspector, 
with  the  rank  of  major-general.  Congress  called  upon  all 
the  States,  except  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  for  their 
quotas  of  men  to  the  continental  army.  These  States 
were  excused,  except  for  local  defence,  in  consideration  of 
their  large  slave  population.  Several  independent  bodies 
of  horse  were  raised  by  Count  Pulaski  and  Henry  Lee, 
who,  because  of  his  success  and  genius  as  a  commander 
of  light-horse,  was  known  in  the  army  as  Light-Horse 
Harry. 

Baron  Steuben  soon  infused  his  own  spirit  into  the 
officers  and  men.  He  was  prompt,  and  they  obeyed  him 
with  alacrity.  The  tactics  were  .taught  by  system,  and 
the  result  was  very  gratifying.  Congress  designed  to  raise 


•• 

FINANCIAL    DIFFICULTIES.  447 


the  army  to  sixty  thousand,  but  it  really  never  reached  CHAP. 

more  than  half  that  number.     Many  of  the  more  expe-  , '. 

rienced  officers  were  compelled  ,by  necessity  to  resign  ;  1778. 
their  families  were  dependent  upon  them,  and  they  re- 
ceived scarcely  any  pay.  These  resignations  were  unfor- 
tunate. Washington  appealed  to  Congress  in  •  behalf  of 
the  officers,  and  also  of  the  soldiers.  That  body  promised 
half  pay  for  seven  years  to  those  officers  who  should  serve 
to  the  end  of  the  war,  and  to  the  soldiers  thus  serving  a 
gratuity  of  eighty  dollars.  But  the  treasury  was  empty  ; 
new  bills  of  credit  were  issued,  and  the  several  States  were 
called  upon  to  levy  taxes  for  the  public  expenses  ;  but 
the  States  were  poor,  and  some  of  them  were  negligent. 
Their  bills  of  credit  continued  to  lose  their  value  ;  and  to 
increase  the  evil,  the  British  and  Tories  flooded  the  coun- 
try with  counterfeits.  The  depreciation  became  so  great, 
that  a  pair  of  boots  cost  more  than  seven  hundred  dollars  in 
some  of  these  bills  of  credit.  Yet  it  shows  the  patriotism 
of  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  that  at  this  time  of  despond- 
ency and  distress,  the  British,  with  their  promises  of  gold 
and  protection,  could  induce  only  three  thousand  five  hun- 
dred Tories  to  enlist  in  their  army. 

The  office  of  quartermaster  had  been  held  during  the 
last  campaign  by  Mifflin  ;  but  he  was  seldom  at  his  post, 
and  the  department  was  in  great  confusion.  Many  diffi- 
culties had  grown  out  of  this  neglect ;  the  army  was  irreg- 
ularly supplied  with  provisions  and  forage,  while'  the 
country  people  suffered  much  on  account  of  the  demands 
made  upon  them  for  provisions  by  unauthorized  foraging 
parties.  At  the  urgent  request  of  Washington,  Congress 
appointed  General  Greene  quartermaster.  He  assumed 
the  duties  of  the  office,  so  irksome  to  him,  for  one  year, 
but  without  compensation.  The  system  with  which 
Greene  performed  all  his  duties  was  soon  apparent ;  the 
army  was  regularly  furnished  with  provisions  and  ammu- 


1 

*  • 


m 


448  HISTORY  OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  nition,  so  that  it  could  be  ready  to  march  at  a  few  min- 
*       utes'  notice. 

1778. 

General  Lee  was  returned  to  the  army  in  exchange  for 

April  General  Prescott.  Lee  was  as  selfish  as  he  was  destitute 
of  the  true  nobleness  of  a  man  of  honor.  In  a  document 
in  his  own  handwriting,  written  when  a  prisoner  in  New 
York,  dated  "  March  29,  1777,"  and  endorsed  by  Lord 
and  Sir  William  Howe  as  "  Mr.  Lee's  plan,"  may  be  found 
1^he  evidence  of  his  willingness  to  ruin  the  cause  of  Ameri- 
can Independence.  In  this  elaborate  plan,  he  urged  with 
great  earnestness  upon  the  British  ministry  to  send  a 
large  force  ;  part  of  which  to  take  position  at  Alexandria, 
on  the  Potomac,  and  part  at  Annapolis,  on  the  Chesa- 
peake. Thus  to  separate  the  Northern  and  Southern  colo- 
nies^ and  prevent  them  from  aiding  each  other,  while  to 
oppose  Burgoyne's  advance  would  require  all  the  force 
that  New  England  could  raise.  He  was  willing  to  forfeit 
his  life,  if  the  measure  did  not  speedily  terminate  the  war 
and  dissolve  the  "  Congress  Government." 

For  some  reason  the  ministry  did  not  adopt  Lee's  sug- 
gestion, and  the  document  was  filed  away  among  British 
state  papers,  to  bear  testimony  to  the  dishonesty^f  the 
author  three-quarters  of  a  century  after  his  death.1 

In  the  Spring,  Sir  William  Howe,  after  complaining 
that  his  government  did  not  furnish  him  a  sufficiency  of 
men  and  supplies,  resigned  his  command,  and  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  was  appointed  his  successor.  With  the  exception 
of  foraging  parties,  the  British,  as  yet,  made  no  military 
May  movements.  About  this  time  came  intelligence  of  the 
passage  of  Lord  North's  conciliatory  bills,  and  that  the 
commissioners  would  soon  be  on  their  way  to  open  nego- 
tiations. The  substance  of  these  bills  was  circulated  very 
extensively  by  zealous  Tories.  Congress  ordered  them  to 

1  "  Treason  of  General  Charles  Lee,"  (a  forthcoming  work,)  by  Professor 
George  H.  Moore: 


?"; 

I 

^  « 

TREATY    WITH    FRANCE — BRITISH   COMMISSIONERS.  449 

. 

& 

bo  printed  in  the  newspapers,  accompanied  by  a  severe  CHAP. 
criticism,  furnished  by  a  committee  of  the  House. 

Presently  came  the  news  that  France  had  acknow-    1778. 
ledged  the  independence  of  the  States,  and  had  entered     39^' 
into  a  treaty  with  them  of  commerce  and  defence.     The 
light  had  dawned  upon  the  American  cause  !     A  thrill  of 
joy  went  throughout  the  land. 

The  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  France  May 
produced  a  great  sensation  in  England.  It  is  madness  to 
protract  the  war  !  said  •  the  friends  of  America.  Let  us 
acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  States,  and  obtain 
their  good  will  by  liberal  terms  of  commerce,  lest  our  great 
rival  win  them  to  herself.  But  no  !  the  idea  was  scouted ; 
the  war  must  be  prosecuted,  blood  must  still  flow. 

In  June  came  the  commissioners  to  treat  under  Lord 
North's  conciliatory  bills.  They  were  the  Earl  of  Carlisle, 
William  Eden,  brother  of  the  late  governor  of  Maryland,  *• 

and  George  Johnstone,  formerly  governor  of  Florida,  and 
who  had  been  a  friend  of  the  Americans  in  Parliament. 

The  commissioners  sent  their  proposals  to  Congress,'* 
but  that  body  refused  to  treat,  until  the  independence  of 
the  States  was  acknowledged,  and  the  British  troops  with- 
drawn.. As  the  commissioners  could  not  grant  these  de- 
mands, negotiations  were  not  commenced.  Some  of  the 
commissioners  indirectly  resorted  to  bribery,  and  by  means 
of  a  loyalist  lady  of  Philadelphia,  made  propositions  to 
General  Joseph  Keed,  of  ten  thousand  pounds,  and  any 
office  in  the  colonies  he  might  choose,  if  he  would  aid  the 
object  of  the  mission.  To  which  offer  he  made  this  mem- 
orable reply  :  "  I  am  not  worth  purchasing,  but  such  as  I 
am,  the  king  of  England  is  not  rich  enough  to  buy  me." 

When  it  was  known  that  a  French  fleet  was  expected 
on  the  coast,  the  British  hastened  to  evacuate  Philadel- 
phia, and  retreat  to  New  York.     Most  of  the  stores,  to-    isf 
gether  with  the  sick  and  wounded,  were  sent  round  by 
29 

I  vi'  ri* '...*;  .*•  .V 


•-, ;    *  -.  *:  - 

•V  . »"     <*.  *r 

*  *« 

450  HISTOKTTOF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  water,  while  the  army,  twelve  thousand  strong,  took  up 

'„  its  line  of  march  across  New  Jersey.     Washington  was 

1778.  soon  in  pursuit.  The  weather  was  excessively  warm,  and 
the  heavily  armed  British  moved  very  slowly.  The  Ameri- 
cans soon  came  up.  A  council  of  war  was  held,  and  the  # 
question  discussed,  whether  to  attack  the  enemy  and 
bring  on  a  general  engagement,  or  merely  harass  them  on 
their  march.  Washington,  with  Greene  and  Lafayette, 
was  in  favor  of  the  former  manner  of  attack,  and  Lee, 
for  some  reason,  strenuously  advocated  the  latter.  When 
it  was  decided  to  bring  on  a  general  engagement,  Lee,  as 
his  advice  had  not  been  taken,  declined  to  take  any  com- 
mand in  the  affair. 

Washington  therefore  sent  Lafayette  forward  with  two 
thousand  men,  to  take  position  on  the  hills,  and  thus 
crowd  Sir  Henry  Clinton  off  into  the  plain.  The  next 
morning  Lee  had  changed  his  mind,  and  asked  to  be  given 
a  command.  Washington  sent  him  forward  with  two 
brigades,  and  when  he  came  up  with  Lafayette,  being  of 
superior  rank,  he  assumed  the  command  of  the  entire  ad- 
vance division. 

The  British  encamped  near  Monmouth  Court-house. 
There  were  morasses  and  groves  of  woods  in  the  vicinity, 
a  difficult  place  in  which  to  manoeuvre  troops. 
June  When  Lee  advanced,  he  found  a  force  of  apparently 
about  two  thousand  on  the  march,  but  a  portion  of  the 
woods  obstructed  a  full  view.  He  made  his  arrangements 
to  cut  off  this  force,  and  sent  word  of  his  movements  to 
Washington.  But  when  he  came  upon  the  division,  he 
found  it  much  stronger  than  he  anticipated — in  truth, 
Clinton  had  thrown  this  strong  force  of  German  and  Brit- 
ish there,  for  the  express  purpose  of  giving  the  Americans 
a  severe  check. 

The  battle  had  scarcely  begun,  before  occurred  a  misap- 
prehension of  orders.  The  Americans  began  to  retreat,  and 
Lee,  in  the  Jiurry  of  the  moment,  forgot  to  send  word  of 

«?  *  * 


» 


BATTLE    OF    MONMOUTH.  451 

the  movement  to  Washington,  who  was  advancing  with 
the  main  body  to  his  support.  The  retreat  had  passed 
into  almost  a  flight.  When  Washington  met  the  troops 
he  inquired  why  they  were  retreating.  The  reply  was; 
they  did  not  know,  but  they  had  received  the  order.  Sus- 
pecting that  this  movement  was  designed  to  mar  the  plan 
of  attack,  he  spurred  on,  and  presently  met  Lee,  of  whom 
he  demanded,  in  a  stern  manner  :  "  What  is  the  meaning 
of  all  this,  sir  ?"  Lee,  disconcerted,  hesitated  for  a  mo- 
ment to  reply,  and  was  asked  again.  He  then  began  to 
explain,  that  the  confusion  had  arisen  from  disobedience 
of  orders  ;  and,  moreover,  he  did  not  wish  to  meet  the 
whole  British  army.  Washington  rejoined,  "  that  he  un- 
derstood it  was  a  mere  covering  party,"  adding  :  "  I  am 
very  sorry  that  you  undertook  the  command  unless  you 
meant  to  fight  the  enemy."  Lee  replied,  that  he  did  not 
think  it  prudent  to  bring  on  a  general  engagement. 
"  Whatever  your  opinion  may  have  been,"  replied  Wash- 
ington, disdainfully,  "  I  expect  my  orders  to  be  obeyed." 
This  conversation  took  but  a  moment. 

Washington  hastily  formed  the  men  on  a  rising  ground. 
The  enemy  came  up  in  force,  and  other  divisions  of  the 
Americans  also  mingled  in  the  conflict.  Night  ended  the 
battle.  The  Americans  slept  upon  their  arms,  expecting 
to  renew  the  rontest  in  the  morning.  But  Clinton  skil- 
fully drew  off  his  army  during  the  night,  and  at  daylight 
was  far  on  his  way.  Washington  did  not  attempt  to  pur- 
sue, as  the  weather  was  intolerably  warm,  and  the  march 
through  a  sandy  region,  destitute  of  water.  The  Ameri- 
cans lost  altogether  about  two  hundred,  many  of  them  on 
account  of  the  extreme  heat  :  the  British  .about  three 
hundred  in  the  battle,  and  on  the  march  two  .thousand 
Hessians  deserted.  H*  f  , 

After  refreshing  his  men,  Washington  marched  across 
New  Jersey,  passed  the  Hudson,  and  took  position  at  White 
Plains,  to  be  ready  to  eo-operate  with  the  French  fleet 


. 


* 
t 


452  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  in  an  attack  upon  New  York.     Lord  Howe  had  scarcely 
_'  left  the  Delaware  when  Count  D'Estaing  appeared  with  a 

1TT8,  squadron.  While  at  sea,  D'Estaing  communicated  with 
Washington  by  letter.  Finding  that  the  British  had 
evacuated  Philadelphia,  he  put  to  sea,  and  soon  anchored 
off  Sandy  Hook. 

The  day  after  the  "battle,  Lee  wrote  a  note,  disre- 
spectful in  its  tone,  to  Washington,  who  replied  ;  and  this 
produced  another  note  from  Lee,  still  more  offensive,  de- 
manding a  court  of  inquiry,  and  in  the  mean  time  inti- 
mating that  he  should  retire  from  the  army.  The  court 
found  him  guilty  of  disobedience  of  orders  and  disrespect 
to  the  Commander-in-chief,  and  sentenced  him  to  be  sus- 
pended for  one  year  from  the  army.  He  retired  to  his 
estate  in  Virginia,  and  there  beguiled  his  leisure  in  writing 
scurrilous  letters  concerning  the  army  and  its  commander. 
When  his  sentence  of  suspension  was  about  to  expire,  he, 
for  some  fancied  neglect,  wrote  an  insolent  letter  to  Con- 
gress. That  body  immediately  dismissed  him  from  the 
army.  Thus  ended  the  military  career  of  General  Charles 
Lee.  A  few  years  afterward  he  died  in  Philadelphia.  His 
life  had  been  that  of  the  soldier  ;  and  in  the  delirium  of 
death  he  murmured,  "  Stand  by  me,  my  brave  grena- 

'>     diers!" 

The  French  fleet  brought  Monsieur  Gerard  as  ambas- 
sador to  the  United  States,  and  also  Silas  Deane,  Doctor 
Franklin,  and  Arthur  Lee,  with  whom,  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  the  treaty  had  been  made. 

*  Howe  ran  his  ships  within  the  bay  of  New  York,  and 
as  the  large  vessels  of  the  French  could  not  pass  the  bar 
at  Sandy  Hook,  the  combined  attack  upon  the  city  was 
abandoned.  Instead,  it  was  resolved  to  make  an  attack 
Upon  Newport,  on  the  island  of  Ehode  Island.  This  was 
a  British  stronghold  and  depot,  and  garrisoned  by  six 
thousand  men,  under  General  Pigot.  The  brutality  of 
these  British  troops  had  excited  against  them  the  bitterest 

'  *  '       '         ^ 


, 

4  •'••;;>• 

THE   FAILURE   AT   NEWPORT.  453 

hatred,  and  when  called  upon  by  General  Sullivan,  who  CHAP. 

was  in  command,  thousands  of  the  militia  of  the  surround-  '. 

ing  country  flocked  to  avenge  their  wrongs.  John  Han-  1778. 
cock,  on  this  occasion,  led  the  Massachusetts  militia,  as 
general.  D'Estaing  sailed  to  Newport,  where  he  arrived  a 
week  before  the  force  sent  by  Washington  under  Greene 
and  Lafayette.  This  unavoidable  delay  ruined  the  enter- 
prise. When  the  Americans  appeared,  the  British  guard 
left  the  works  on  the  north  end  of  the  island,  and  retired 
to  their  inner  lines.  The  Americans  immediately  passed 
over  and  occupied  the  abandoned  works.  The  very  day 
of  this  occupancy,  Lord  Howe  appeared  with  a  fleet,  and 
D'Estaing  went  out  to  give  him  battle.  They  both  ma- 
noeuvred their  fleets  to  obtain  the  advantage  of  position, 
when  a  terrible  storm  arose  and  separated  them.  12. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Americans  moved  near  the  ene- 
my's works,  and  commenced  to  cannonade  them,  expect- 
ing that  the  French  fleet  would  soon  return  to  their  aid. 
D'Estaing  did  return,  but  instead  of  landing  the  four  20- 
thousand  troops  on  board,  he  set  sail  for  Boston  to  refit 
his  vessels,  which  the  late  storm  had  shattered. 

The  Americans  now  abandoned  their  lines,  and  by 
night  retreated,  repulsing  the  division  of  the  enemy  sent 
in  pursuit.  It  was  time,  for  the  British  were  strongly 
reinforced  from  New  York  by  four  thousand  troops,  under 
Clinton  himself. 

To  deceive  the  enemy,  and  escape  safely  from  the 
island,  Sullivan  sent  a  party  to  occupy  a  hill  in  sight  of 
the  British  lines.  The  party  began  to  throw  up  intrench- 
ments,  and  in  the  evening  pitched  their  tents  ;  but  as 
soon  as  it  was  night,  they  silently  decamped,  and  in  the 
morning  were  all  safely  on  the  main  land. 

A  great  clamor  arose  because  D'Estaing  failed  to  co- 
operate with  the  Americans  at  Newport.  Subsequent 
investigation  seemed  to  justify  him  ;  at  least,  Congress 
passed  a  resolution  approving  his  conduct.  This  may, 


I 


454  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


however,  have  been  mere  policy,  as  Congress  was  unwil- 
ling  to  offend  the  French  by  passing  a  vote  of  censure. 

1778.  The    war   degenerated   into   marauding    expeditions 

against  defenceless  villages.  The  first  object  of  this  bar- 
barity was  the  island  of  Martha's  Vineyard,  whose  inhabi- 
tants were  stripped  of  every  thing  the  robbers  could  carry 
off.  The  towns  of  New  Bedford  and  Fair  Haven  were 

Sept.  wantonly  burned,  and  also  seventy  vessels  in  their  ports. 
Scenes  of  cruelty  were  enacted  in  New  Jersey,  where  an 

Oct.  American  regiment  of  horse  was  cut  to  pieces,  and  a  com- 
pany of  infantry,  when  crying  for  quarter,  was  butchered 
with  the  bayonet  without  mercy. 

When  it  was  certainly  known  that  a  French  fleet  had 
sailed  to  the  United  States,  the  English  ministry  sent 
Admiral  Byron  in  pursuit.  He  appeared  off  Boston  har- 
bor while  the  French  were  refitting,  but  did  not  dare  at- 
tack them,  and  the  French  were  unwilling  to  come  out  of 
their  place  of  security.  Lord  Howe  resigned  his  command 
into  the  hands  of  Admiral  Byron.  At  length  a  storm 
arose  which  scattered  the  English  fleet  ;  then  the  French 

Nov.    slipped  out  of  the  harbor,  and  sailed  to  the  West  Indies. 

On  the  same  day,  five  thousand  British  troops  sailed  from 

New  York  for  the  same  destination.     Three  weeks  after, 

another  expedition  of  three  thousand  sailed  for  Georgia  ; 

*  yfct  the  British  army  remaining  was  far  more  numerous 

•  ^*  ^          than  the  forces  under  Washington. 

During  the  summer,  one  of  the  most  atrocious  outra- 
ges which  disgraced  the  war,  was  committed  upon  the 
settlement  of  Wyoming,  situated  in  a  beautiful  valley  on 
the  Susquehanna.  There  had  been  previously  much  con- 
tention among  the  inhabitants,  some  of  whom  were  Tories. 
These  had  been  seized,  and  sent  out  of  the  settlement  ; 
July,  they  took  their  revenge  with  more  than  savage  ferocity. 

After  the  defeat  of  St.  Leger.at  Fort  Schuyler,  Fort 
Niagara  became  the  head-quarters  of  Tories  and  Indians  ; 


i 
i 

DESTRUCTION   OF   WYOMING.  455 

at   that   place   was  planned   the   murderous   expedition.  CHAP. 

The  party  was  guided  by  Tories  who  had  lived  in  the  val-  ' 

ley.  The  chief  leader  in  this  expedition  was  John  Butler,  1778. 
a  Tory  notorious  for  his  cruelty.  His  force,  about  eleven 
hundred,  was  composed  of  his  Hangers,  Johnson's  Greens, 
and  Mohawks.  There  were  block-houses  in  the  settle- 
ment ;  to  these  the  people  fled  in  times  of  danger.  Nearly 
all  the  able-bodied  men  were  absent  in  the  army  under 
Washington.  There  were  left  only  the  women  and  chil- 
dren, the  aged  and  infirm.  Suddenly  the  savage  enemy 
appeared  at  various  points  in  the  valley,  and  commenced 
murdering  the  husbandmen  in  the  fields,  and  burning  the 
houses.  It  had  been  rumored  that  such  an  attack  was 
meditated,  and  a  small  force  had  already  been  dispatched 
by  Washington  to  defend  the  settlement.  They  had 
themselves,  under  Zebulon  Butler,  (no  relation  of  John 
Butler),  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  men.  Unfortunate- 
ly, Butler  did  not  wait  the  arrival  of  the  reinforcement, 
but  sallied  forth  to  restrain  the  ravaging  of  the  country. 
Intelligence  of  this  intended  attack  was  conveyed  to  the  en- 
emy, and  they  were  fully  prepared.  The  fight  began,  and 
the  Tories  were  forced  to  give  way,  but  the  Indians  passed 
round  a  swamp  toward  the  rear.  Butler,  seeing  this  move- 
ment, ordered  his  men  to  fall  back,  lest  they  should  be 

surrounded.     This  order  was  mistaken  for  one  to  retreat  : 

' 

all  was  thrown  into  confusion,  and  a  portion,  panic-strick- 
en, fled.  They  were  pursued  by  the  Tories  and  Indians 
with  unrelenting  fury.  The  whole  valley  was  desolated. 
Those  of  the  people  who  escaped,  fled  to  the  mountains, 
and  there  women  and  children  perished  by  hundreds, 
while  some,  after  incredible  sufferings,  reached  the  settle- 
ments. 

A  month  later,  similar  scenes  were  witnessed  at  Cherry 
Valley,  in  New  York.      The   Tories  and   Indians   were 
equally  as  cruel  as  at  the  Wyoming  massacre.     The  peo-    Aug. 
pie  were  either  murdered  or  carried  into  captivity.     All 


•• 


456  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  the  region  of  the  upper  Susquehanna,  the  Delaware,  and 
—  the  Mohawk,  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  savages. 

In  the  latter  part  of  November,  Clinton  sent  Colonel 
Campbell,  with  two  thousand  men,  to  invade  Georgia. 
He  landed  three  miles  below  Savannah,  the  capital,  on  the 
twenty-ninth  of  December. 

General  Eobert  Howe,  who  was  in  command,  could 
make  but  little  resistance.  He  and  his  men  behaved  no- 
bly, but  a  negro  guiding  the  British  by  a  path  through  a 
swamp,  they  gained  the  rear  of  the  Americans,  who  were 
now  thrown  into  confusion  and  defeated.  The  town  of 

•       r 

Savannah  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors. 

General  Prevost,  who  commanded  in  East  Florida, 
was  ordered  by  Clinton  to  pass  across  to  Savannah,  and 
there  join  Campbell  and  assume  the  command.  On  his 
march,  Prevost  took  Sunbury,  a  fort  of  some  importance. 
Arriving  at  Savannah,  he  sent  Campbell  to  take  possession 
of  Augusta.  Thus  was  Georgia  subdued,  in  the  space  of 
a  few  weeks.  The  British  now  transferred  their  active 
operations  to  the  South,  which  became  the  principal  thea- 
tre of  the  war  till  its  close. 

General  Benjamin  Lincoln,  who  had  been  appointed 
to  take  command  of  the  Southern  Department,  arrived 
about  this  time.  The  delegates  from  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia  had  solicited  his  appointment. 


- 

• 


'•  * 


*• 


CHAPTEK    XXXV. 

WAR  OF  THE   REVOLUTION— CONTINUED.  j    , 

Dissensions  in  Congress. — Expedition  against  the  Indians. — The  War  in  the 
South. — Augusta  reoccupied. — Charleston  threatened. — Marauding  Ex- 
peditions sent  to  Virginia,  and  up  the  Hudson. — Tryon  ravages  Con- 
*  necticut. — Capture  of  Stony  Point  by  Wayne. — Lee  surprises  the  Gar- 
rison at  Jersey  City. — Combined  assault  upon  Savannah. — Daniel 
Boone ;  Kentucky. — George  Rogers  Clarke ;  Kaskaskia. — Pioneers  of 
Tennessee ;  Nashville. — John  Paul  Jones. 

*»    *' 

THE  American  army  was  distributed,  at  the  end  of  the  CHAP 
year,  in  a  series  of  cantonments,  which  extended  from  the  xxxv 
east  end  of  Long  Island  Sound  to  the  Delaware  ;  thus 
effectually  enclosing  the  British  forces.  The  head-quarters 
were  in  a  central  position  at  Middlebrook,  New  Jersey. 
The  British  were  so  strong  at  New  York  and  Newport, 
that  to  attack  them  with  success  was  hopeless.  The 
French  fleet  had  been  of  no  practical  use  to  the  Ameri- 
cans, and  now  Count  D'Estaing  took  with  him*  his  land 
troops  to  the  West  Indies. 

Four  years  had  passed  since  the  war  commenced  ;  the 
finances  of  the  country  were  still  in  a  wretched  condition. 
The  enemy  held  important  places,  and  were  watching  for 
opportunities  to  pillage.  In  the  South,  the  Tories  were 
specially  active.  Yet  there  were  other  elements  at  work, 
more  injurious  to  the  cause  than  even  these. 

Congress  was  filled  with  dissensions.     The  prospect 


458  HISTOEY   OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 

xxxv    °^  assistance  fr°m  France  caused  many  to  relax  their 

. efforts,  as  though  the  war  was  virtually  ended.     Wash- 

1779.  ington  wrote,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  :  "  Our  affairs 
are  in  a  more  distressed,  ruinous,  and  deplorable  condition 
than  they  have  been  since  the  commencement  of  the  war." 
A  large  majority  of  Congress  was  carried  away  with  the 
scheme  of  joining  with  the  French  in  an  expedition  against 
Canada.  But  when  the  matter  was  laid  before  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief, at  a  glance  he  saw  the  difficulties  of  the 
undertaking,  and,  with  the  comprehensive  views  of  the 
true  statesman,  pointed  out  the  disadvantages  of  having, 
on  this  continent',  a  power  different  in  nation,  in  religion, 
and  in  customs  from  the  Americans.  Moreover,  he  desired 
the  people  of  the  United  States  to  be  as  little  under  obli- 
gations as  possible  to  other  nations. 

For  the  ensuing  campaign,  it  was  evident  the  British 
intended  to  confine  themselves  to  pillaging  expeditions, 
and  to  cripple  the  Union  in  the  South.  Washington  now 
recommended  an  expedition  against  the  Indians,  to  punish 
them  for  their  outrages  at  "Wyoming  and  other  places.  It 
was  to  be  conducted  on  their  own  plan — to  invade  and 
lay  waste  their  territory. 

In  April  a  body  of  troops  suddenly  invaded  and  deso- 
lated the  territory  of  the  Onondagas.  The  principal  ex- 
pedition, under  Sullivan,  went  against  the  Senecas,  to 
revenge  their  attack  on  Wyoming.  With  five  thousand 
men  he  penetrated  their  country,  met  them  under  Brant, 
with  their  worthy  allies,  the  Tories,  Johnson  and  Butler, 
at  Newtown,  now  Elmira,  and  completely  routed  them. 
Without  giving  them  time  to  recover  from  their  panic, 
Sullivan  pursued  them  into  the  valley  of  the  Genesee,  and 
in  a  few  weeks  destroyed  more  than  forty  of  their  villages, 
all  their  cornfields,  gardens,  and  orchards.  It  was  a  ter- 
rible vengeance ;  but  the  only  means  to  prevent  their 
tions  on  the  settlements. 


CHARLESTON    THREATENED.  459 

Want  of  food  compelled  the  Indians  and  Tories  to  CHAP. 
emigrate  to   Canada,  yet  they  soon  after  renewed  their  ', 


depredations,  and  icon  tinned  them,  with  their  usual  fero-    1779. 
city,  till  the  end  of  the  wait    In  the  mean  while,  another     , 
successful  expedition  was  conducted  against  the  Indian 
towns  on  the  Alleghany,  above  Pittsburg. 

As  in  the  North,  so  in  the  South,  the  British  entered 
into  alliances  with  the  Indians — there  they  induced  the 
Creeks  to  join  them.  The  Tories  desolated  the  upper  part 
of  Georgia  ;  but  as  they  drew  near  Augusta,  Colonel 
Pickens  suddenly  attacked  and  routed  them.  Seventy- 
five  were  made  prisoners  and  condemned  to  death,  as  trai- 
tors ;  however,  only  five  were  executed.  Feb. 

The  next  month,  General  Lincoln  sent  General  Ashe, 
with  two  thousand  men,  to  drive  Campbell  from  Augusta. 
Campbell,  hearing  of  his  approach,  retreated  in  haste,  and 
Ashe  pursued,  but  was  himself  surprised,  some  days  after, 
and  his  entire  force  dispersed.  The  British  now  reoccupied 
Augusta,  and  opened  a  communication  with  the  Chero- 
kees  and  the  South  Carolina  Tories. 

While  Lincoln  recruited  his  army,  Prevost  marched 
slowly  in  the  direction  of  Charleston ;  and  Lincoln  has- 
tened to  the  aid  of  that  city.  The  inhabitants  were 
indefatigable  in  their  exertions  to  give  the  foe  a  warm 
reception.  They  threw  up  intrenchments  across  the  neck  May. 
of  the  peninsula,  on  which  their  city  stood.  Presently, 
Prevost  arrived  and  summoned  them  to  surrender,  but 
they  boldly  refused. 

He  prepared  to  enter  upon  a  regular  siege,  but  hearing 
of  the  approach  of  Lincoln,  he  first  ravaged  the  planta- 
tions in  the  vicinity,  carried  off  an  immense  amount  of 
plunder,  and  three  or  four  thousand  slaves,  and  then  re- 
treated toward  Savannah,  by  way  of  the  islands  along  the 
coast.  As  the  hot  season  approached,  hostilities  ceased.  Jane- 

While  these  events  were  in  progress  in  the  South, 
Clinton  was  fulfilling  his  instructions  from  the  ministry  to 


460  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

xxxv  sen(^  out  plun<lering  expeditions.  One  of  these,  under 

General  Mathews,  he  sent  from  New  York,  with  twenty- 

1779.  five  hundred  men,  into  Virginia.  The, fleet  entered  the 
8ay  Chesapeake,  the  troops  landed-;  and  plundered  the  towns 
of  Portsmouth  and  Norfolk.  A  little  higher  up,  at  Gos- 
port/  was  established  a  navy-yard  by  the  State  ;  there 
they  burned  one  hundred  and  thirty  merchant  ships,  and 
several  war-vessels  on  the  stocks.  The  facilities  afforded 
the  enemy  by  the  rivers  to  pass  from  point  to  point,  and 
the  danger  of  the  slaves  rising,  prevented  much  resistance. 

When  these  soldiers  returned,  Clinton  went  up  the 
Hudson,  against  the  posts  VerplancFs  and  Stony  Points. 
These  forts  protected  King's  Ferry,  a  very  important 
crossing-place,  on  the  main  road  from  the  eastern  to  the 
middle  States.  The  works  at  Stony  Point — not  yet  fin- 
ished— were  abandoned  ;  and  the  garrison  at  Verplanck^s 
Point  were  forced  to  surrender. 

The  next  expedition,  of  twenty-five  hundred  men,  was 
under  Tryon,  whose  barbarities,  on  such  occasions,  have 
justly  rendered  his  name  infamous.  Tryon  plundered 
New  Haven,  and  burned  Fairfield  and  Norwalk.  In  the 
July  course  of  a  few  days,  he  burned  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
'  five  private  dwellings,  half  as  many  bams  and  stores,  and 
five,  places  of  worship.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  were 
murdered,  or  subjected  to  the  brutal  passions  of  the  sol- 
diers. This  "journeyman  of  desolation,"  so  insensible  to 
the  promptings  of  humanity,  contemplated  these  outrages 
with  pleasure,  and  afterward  even  claimed  for  himself  the 
honor  of  having  exercised  mercy,  because  he  did  not  burn 
every  dwelling  on  the  coast  of  New  England. 

Clinton  had  been  grossly  deceived  by  the  Tories,  who 
assured  him  that  the  principal  inhabitants  of  Connecticut 
were  so  much  dissatisfied  because  their  homes  were  not 
protected  by  the  American  army,  that  they  were  about  to 
withdraw  from  the  cause,  and  put  themselves  under  Brit- 


CAPTURE   OF   STONY  POINT.  461 

ish  protection.     And  it  was  thought  a  few  more  such  CHAP. 
expeditions  would  accomplish  this  result.  

Washington  now  devised  a  plan  to  recapture  Stony  1779. 
Point.  The  fort  was  so  situated,  that  to  surprise  it  seemed 
an  impossibility.  He  proposed  to  General  Wayne — "  Mad 
Anthony  " — to  undertake  the  desperate  enterprise.  The 
proposal  was  accepted  with  delight.  Washington  himself, 
accompanied  by  Wayne,  carefully  reconnoitred  the  Point. 
The  attempt  was  to  be  made  at  the  hour  of  midnight. 
Every  precaution  to  secure  success  was  taken,  even  the 
dogs  of  the  neighborhood  were  privately  destroyed.  A 
negro,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  fort  to  sell 
fruit,  and  also  as  a  spy  for  the  Americans,  was  to  act  as 
guide.  July 

The  men,  with  fixed  bayonets,  and,  to  remove  the  pos-  1G- 
sibility  of  discovery,  with  unloaded  muskets,  approached 
in  two  divisions,  at  the  appointed  hour.  The  negro, 
accompanied  by  two  soldiers,  disguised  as  farmers,  ap- 
proached the  outer  sentinel,  and  gave  the  countersign. 
The  sentinel  was  seized  and  gagged,  and  the  second 
treated  in  the  same  manner  ;  at  the  third,  the  alarm  was 
given,  but  the  impetuosity  of  the  Americans  was  so  great, 
that  in  a  few  minutes  the  two  divisions  from  the  opposite 
sides  of  the  fort  met  in  the  centre.  They  took  more  than 
five  hundred  prisoners.  This  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  j 
exploits  of  the  war.  How  great  was  the  contrast  between 
the  humanity  of  Wayne  and  the  savage  cruelty  of  the 
British  in  their  midnight  attacks  with  the  bayonet !  Sted- 
man,  the  British  historian,  records  that  "  the  conduct  of 
the  Americans  upon  this  occasion  was  highly  meritorious, 
for  they  would  have  been  fully  justified  in  putting  the 
garrison  to  the  sword ;  not  one  man  of  which  was  put  to 
death  but  in  fair  combat."  When  Clinton  heard  of  the 
taking  of  Stony  Point,  he  hastily  recalled  Tryon,  who  was 
about  to  move  against  New  London. 

The  exploit  of  Wayne  was  speedily  followed  by  another 

•  •* 


462  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  daring  adventure  by  Light  Horse  Harry.    He  had  learned 
_  '  by  reconnoitring,  and  by  means  of  spies,  the  exact  condi- 
1779.    tion  of  the  garrison  at  Paulus  Hook,  now  Jersey  City, 
opposite  New  York.     Thinking  themselves  secure  from 
attack,  because  of  their  nearness  to  the  main  army,  the 
officers,  as  well  as  men,  were  careless.     Lee  asked  permis- 
to  strike  a  blow  within  "  cannon-shot  of  New  York." 


1  8 

Washington  directed  him  "to  surprise  the  fort,  bring  off 
the  garrison  immediately,  and  effect  a  retreat/'  and  not 
to  linger,  lest  he  should  himself  be  overpowered.  About 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  made  themselves  masters 
of  the  fort,  and  secured  one  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners, 
with  a  loss  to  themselves  of  only  two  men.  Soon  alarm 
guns  roused  the  garrison  in  New  York,  and  Lee  com- 
menced his  retreat.  The  exploit  redounded  much  to  his 
credit,  and  that  of  his  company  of  horse.  In  compliment. 
Congress  voted  Wayne,  as  well  as  Lee,  a  gold  medal. 

An  effort  was  again  made  to  take  Savannah.  Count 
D'Estaing  appeared  with  his  fleet  from  the  West  Indies, 
and  General  Lincoln  marched  to  aid  in  the  siege.  Several 
North  Carolina  regiments  had  been  sent  by  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief, and  the  militia  turned  out  well.  Prevost 
made  every  exertion  to  defend  himself.  But  D'Estaing 
soon  grew  impatient  ;  he  must  return  to  the  West  Indies 
lest  the  British  fleet  might  accomplish  some  enterprise  of 
importance.  The  siege  must  be  either  abandoned,  or  the 
Oct.  town  taken  by  assault.  The  latter  was  resolved  upon  ; 
9.  and  it  was  undertaken  with  great  disadvantages  staring 
the  assailants  in  the  face.  After  they  had  carried  some 
of  the  outworks,  the  Americans  were  forced  to  retire. 
Count  Pulaski,  when  gallantly  leading  his  men,  was  mor- 
tally wounded.  The  French,  who  were  at  the  post  of  the 
greatest  danger,  were  also  repulsed,  and  D'Estaing  him- 
self was  wounded.  Lincoln  now  retreated  to  Charleston, 
disbanded  the  militia,  and  the  Count  sailed  to  the  West 
Indies.  Thus,  for  the  second  time,  the  French,  under  the 


EXPEDITION   TO    THE    SOUTH — DANIEL   BOONE.  463 

-,        '-. 

same    officer,  failed    to   co-operate    efficiently  with  the  CHAP. 

Americans.    Very  great  dissatisfaction  was  excited  at  this  ! 

throughout  the  country.  1779. 

Clinton  obeyed  his  instructions  from  home,  evacuated 
Newport,  and  concentrated  his  main  force  at  New  York, 
which  place  he  thought  in  danger  of  a  combined  attack 
from  the  Americans  and  French.  In  truth,  Washington, 
in  expectation  of  such  aid,  had  called  out  the  militia  for 
that  purpose,  but  when  he  heard  that  the  French  had 
sailed  for  the  West  Indies,  he  dismissed  them,  and  went 
into  winter-quarters  near  Morristown,  New  Jersey.  25 

When  the  coast  was  clear,  Clinton  sent  seven  thou- 
sand men  by  sea  to  Savannah,  and  soon  after  sailed  him- 
self with  two  thousand  more,  leaving  a  powerful  garrison 
in  New  York,  under  the  command  of  Knyphausen. 

Some  years  before  the  commencement  of  the  war, 
Daniel  Boone,  the  bold  hunter  and  pioneer,  had  visited 
the  region  of  Kentucky.  Attracted  by  the  fertility  of  the 
soil,  the  beauty  of  the  forests,  and  the  mildness  of  the 
climate,  in  connection  with  others,  he  formed  a  settlement 
on  the  Kentucky  river.  Thither  Boone  took  his  wife  and 
daughters,  the  first  white  women  in  that  region.  There, 
during  the  war,  these  bold  pioneers  were  in  perils,  fighting 
the  Indians  and  levelling  the  forests.  Harrod,  another  bold 
backwoodsman,  founded  Harrod  sburg.  The  territory  on 
the  lower  Kentucky,  had  been  purchased  of  the  Cherokees. 
Though  Dunmore,  the  governor  of  Virginia,  denounced 
the  purchase  as  illegal,  yet  in  spite  of  his  proclamation, 
and  the  hostility  of  the  Indians,  the  people,  in  numbers, 
emigrated  to  that  delightful  region. 

The  Indians  at  the  West  were  becoming  hostile  under 
the  influence  of  British  emissaries.  The  principal  actor 
in  this  was  Hamilton,  the  commandant  at  Detroit,  against 
which  place  Congress  resolved  to  send  an  expedition. 


464  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.   "While  this  was  under  consideration,  George  Rogers  Clarke, 

an  adventurous  Virginian,  set  out  from  Pittsburg  on  an 

1779.  expedition  against  Kaskaskia,  an  old  French  town  on  the 
Mississippi.  Clarke,  though  a  backwoodsman  of  Ken- 
tucky, acted  under  the  authority  of  Virginia.  With  two 
hundred  men  he  floated  in  boats  down  the  Ohio  to  the 
Falls,  and  there,  on  an  island,  thirteen  families,  his  follow- 
ers, made  a  settlement.  Joined  by  some  Kentuckians,  he 
proceeded  down  the  river,  to  near  its  mouth.  Then  hiding 
his  canoes,  the  company  struck  through  the  woods  to  Kas- 
kaskia.  This  town  was  claimed  by  the  English  since  the 
surrender  of  Canada.  The  inhabitants  were  at  once  con- 
ciliated, when  they  heard  of  the  alliance  between  the 
United  States  and  France,  and  when  they  saw  their  relig- 
1778.  ion  respected  and  their  property  protected.  Clarke  also 
u  y'  entered  into  friendly  relations  with  the  Spaniards  west  of 
*the  Mississippi,  at  ST.  Louis.  When  he  returned  to  the 
Falls,  he  built  a  stockade  fort  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Ohio  ;  this  was  the  germ  of  the  present  city  of  LOUISVILLE. 
Virginia  claimed  the  region  north  of  the  Ohio,  as  con- 
quered territory,  erected  it  into  the  county  of  Illinois,  and 
made  arrangements  to  keep  possession  of  it. 

Other  bold  pioneers  were,  about  the  same  time,  pene- 
trating the  wilderness  further  south.  James  Eobertson, 
from  North  Carolina,  who,  eleven  years  before,  led  emi- 
grants to  settle  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Tennessee,  now, 
May,  with  a  company,  crossed  over  into  the  valley  of  the  Cum- 
berland. They  passed  down  that  river  till  they  found  a 
desirable  location,  a  bluff  on  its  south  shore.  The  com- 
pany altogether  amounted  to  nearly  fifty  persons.  There, 
in  the  midst  of  the  primeval  forest,  more  than  a  hundred 
males  from  the  nearest  settlement,  they  cleared  some  land 
and  planted  corn.  Three  of  their  number  remained  to 
guard  the  growing  crop,  and  the  others  returned  to  bring 
their  families.  Emigration  now  began  :  one  party  set  out 
through  the  wilderness,  driving  their  cattle  before  them  ; 


NASHVILLE  —  JOHN   PAUL   JONES.  465 


another,  with  the  women  and  children,  went  on  board  of 
boats,  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Tennessee.     They  were  _  ! 
to  pass  down  that  river  to  its  mouth,  thence  find  their    1779. 
way  up  the  Cumberland  to  the  chosen  spot.     A  laborious 
journey  of  more  than  six  months  brought  them  to  their 
anxious  friends.     The   settlement   increased   with  great 
rapidity,  notwithstanding  the  hostility  of  the   Indians. 
Such  were   the   beginnings  of  the  now  prosperous   and 
beautiful  city  of  NASH-VILLE. 

Congress,  from  time  to  time,  made  efforts  \o  increase 
the  continental  navy,  but  many  of  the  vessels  had  been 
lost.  The  privateers  had  aroused  the  ire  and  the  vigilance 
of  the  entire  British  navy.  Yet  some  American  cruisers, 
fitted  out  in  France,  fearlessly  sailed  in  quest  of  the  enemy. 
The  most  distinguished  of  these  commanders  was  John 
Paul  Jones,  a  native  of  Scotland,  but  who  had  been* 
brought  to  Virginia  in  childhood.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
officers  commissioned  by  Congress  for  the  navy.  Jones,  in 
command  of  the  Kanger,  of  eighteen  guns,  spread  terror 
around  England,  and  even  made  a  descent  on  the  coast  of 
Scotland. 

A  small  squadron  of  five  French  and  American  ships 
were  fitted  out  at  I/Orient,  and  placed  under  his  com- 
mand, to  cruise  in  the  British  seas.     Off  the   coast  of 
Scotland,  he  met  with  a  fleet  of  merchantmen,  convoyed' 
by  a  frigate  and  another  armed  vessel.     It  was  night,  and    gept> 
the  battle,  the  most  desperate  in  the  annals  of  naval  war-     23. 
fare,  lasted  three  hours.     Jones  lashed  his  flag-ship,  the 
Eichard,  to  the  British  frigate  Serapis,  and  thus,  muzzle 
to  muzzle,  they  poured  into  each  other  their  broadsides. 
At  length,  both  the  English  ships  surrendered.     Jones'  ft 

flag-ship  was  so  damaged,  that  in  a  few  hours  it  went  to 
the  bottom. 


30 


CHAPTEE    XXXVI. 

AR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION—  CONTINUED. 

Hardships  of  the  Soldiers.  —  British  Success  at  the  South.  —  Colonel  Tarle- 
T1  ton.  —  Charleston  capitulates.  —  Defeat  at  Waxhaws.  —  Rev.  James  Cald- 
well.  —  Maraud  into  Jersey.  —  Fleet  at  Newport.  —  The  South  unsubdued  ; 
her  partisan  Leaders.  —  Gates  sent  to  take  Command.  —  Disastrous  Bat- 
tle of  Camden.  —  Death  of  De  Kalb.  —  Sumter's  Success  and  Defeat.  — 
Treason  of  Arnold.  —  Major  Andre\  —  Movements  of  Cornwallis.  —  Colonel 
Ferguson.  —  Battle  of  King's  Mountain.  —  Tarleton  repulsed.  —  General 
Greene  in  Command.  —  Rancorous  Spirit  between  the  Whigs  and  To- 
ries. —  British  triumphant.  —  Affairs  in  Europe.  —  Henry  Laurens.  —  Dan- 
gers of  England  ;  her  Energy. 

CHAP.  THIS  winter,  like  the  preceding,  witnessed  the  hardships 
_  ;  of  the  soldiers,  who  were  often  in  great  straits  for  pro- 
1780.  visions,  and  other  necessaries.  The  depreciation  of  the 
currency  continued  ;  Congress  was  in  debt,  without  money 
and  without  credit.  To  preserve  the  soldiers  from  starva- 
tion, Washington  was  under,  to  him,  the  painful  necessity 
of  levying  contributions  upon  the  people  of  the  surround- 
ing country.  Jersey  was  drained  almost  to  exhaustion  ; 
but  her  patriotism  rose  in  proportion  to  her  sacrifices  ;  at 
one  time,  when  deep  snows  cut  off  supplies  from  a  dis- 
tance, the  subsistence  of  the  whole  army  devolved  upon 
her.  "  The  women  met  together  to  knit  and  sew  for  the 
soldiery,"  and  the  farmers  hastened  to  the  camp  with 
provisions,  "  stockings,  shoes,  coats,  and  blankets." 

A  committee  sent  by  Congress  to  inquire  into  the  con- 

May.    dition  of  affairs  at  Morris  town,  reported  :  "  That  the  army 

was  five  months  unpaid  ;  that  it  seldom  had  more  than 


BRITISH    SUCCESS   IN    THE    SOUTH.  467 

six  days'  provisions  in  advance,  and  was,  on  several  occa-  CHAP. 

sions,  for  sundry  successive  days,  without  meat ;  was  des-  ! 

titute  of  forage  :  that  the  medical  department  had  neither  1780. 
sugar,  tea,  chocolate,  wine,  nor  spirits."  No  other  prin- 
ciple than  true  patriotism  could  have  held  men  together 
in  the  midst  of  privations  and  sufferings  such  as  these. 
In  preparation  for  the  ensuing  campaign,  Congress  made 
great  exertions  to  increase  the  army  ;  large  bounties  were 
offered,  yet  recruits  came  in  slowly. 

The  winter  was  exceedingly  severe.  The  waters  around 
New  York  were  frozen,  communication  with  the  sea  was 
cut  off,  so  that  the  garrison  and  the  citizens  suffered  for 
provisions.  Knyphausen  was  alarmed  lest  the  Americans 
should  pass  on  the  ice  and  attack  the  city  ;  his  ships  of 
war  were  frozen  fast,  and  no  longer  useful  to  defend  it.  A 
He  transferred  the  seamen  to  the  shore,  and  formed  them 
into  companies,  and  placed  the  entire  male  population 
under  arms.  But  his  apprehensions  were  groundless,  as 
Washington  was  too  deficient  in  men  and  means  to  make 
a  successful  attack  upon  the  garrison. 

In  the  South,  the  British  were  very  successful.  When 
Clinton  arrived  at  Savannah,  he  immediately  went  North 
for  the  purpose  of  blockading  Charleston.  General  Lin- 
coin  made  every  exertion  to  fortify  the  city.  Four  thou- 
sand of  its  militia  enrolled  themselves  ;  but  the  assistance 
received  from  the  surrounding  country  numbered  only  two 
hundred  men.  South  Carolina  had  represented  to  Con- 
gress her  utter  inability  to  defend  herself,  "  by  reason  of 
the  great  number  of  citizens  necessary  to  remain  at  home 
to  prevent  insurrection  among  the  negroes,  and  their  de- 
sertion to  the  enemy."  The  only  hope  of  Charleston  lay 
in  the  regiments  then  on  their  march  from  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina.  These  regiments  increased  Lincoln's 


468  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

xxxvf  ^orce  ^°  seven  thousand,  only  two  thousand  of  whom  were 

continentals. 

1780.  The  British  occupied  so  much  time  in  their  approach, 
that  an  opportunity  was  given  to  fortify  the  harbor  and 
city.  It  was  of  no  avail ;  the  superior  English  fleet  passed 

*  by  Fort  Moultrie  without  receiving  much  damage,  though 
four  years  before  the  same  fort  had  repulsed  a  similar  at- 
tempt.    The  channel,  at  this  time,  was  deeper,  and  the 
vessels  could  pass.   ' 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  lost  nearly  all  his  horses  on  the 
voyage  ;  but  he  had  with  him  Lieutenant-colonel  Ban- 
astre  Tarleton,  a  native  of  Liverpool.  Let  us  take  a 
glance  at  the  colonel,  who  figures  so  largely  in  these  south- 
ern campaigns.  He  was  at  this  time  only  twenty-six 
^  years  of  age.  He  is  described  as  short  of  stature,  broad 
%  shouldered  and  muscular,  of  swarthy  complexion,  with  a 
countenance  lighted  up  by  small,  keen  black  eyes,  the 
embodiment1  of  ardent,  prompt  energy,  and  indomitable 
perseverance,  that  never  pursued  without  overtaking  ; 
always  in  front  of  his  men  ;  as  insensible  to  weariness  as  he 
was  to  fear.  To  be  scrupulous  was  not  one  of  his  virtues. 
He  soon,  from  friends  or  enemies,  by  money  or  by  force, 
obtained  horses  for  his  dragoons. 

April  Thirty  miles  from  Charleston,  at  Monk's  Corner,  Gen- 
eral Huger  and  Colonel  William  Washington  had  two 
regiments  of  continental  cavalry  to  guard  the  passes  to 
the  north  country.  On  a  dark  night,  Tarleton,  guided  by 
a  negro,  pounced  upon  them  with  his  dragoons,  and  scat- 
tered them.  Huger  and  Washington  escaped,  with  some 
of  their  officers  and  men,  but  Tarleton  took  a  hundred 
prisoners,  and  four  hundred  wagons  laden  with  stores. 
Fort  Moultrie  surrendered,  and  soon  after  another  division 
of  American  cavalry  was  almost  annihilated  by  Tarleton, 
and  Charleston  was  now  completely  invested. 

As  the  defences  of  the  town  continued  to  fail  in  suc- 
cession, Lincoln  thought  to  abandon  the  place,  and  force 


CHARLESTON    CAPITULATES.  469 

bis  way  through  the  enemy  ;  but  the  superiority  of  the  CHAP. 

besiegers  in  number  and  position  rendered  that  impossible.  ! 

The  British  fleet  was  ready  to  pour  ruin  upon  the  devoted    1T80. 
town.     Clinton  had  thrown  up  intrenchments  across  the 
neck,  and  at  this  crisis  Cornwallis  arrived  from  New  York 
with  three  thousand  fresh  troops. 

On  the  ninth  of  May  commenced  a  terrible  cannonade 
from  two  hundred  cannons.  All  night  long  bombshells 
poured  upon  the  town,  which  at  one  time  was  on  fire  in 
five  different  places.  The  morning  dawned,  but  no  hope 
dawned  for  the  besieged.  Their  guns  were  nearly  all  dis- 
mounted, their  works  in  ruins,  the  soldiers  exhausted  by 
fatigue.  The  fleet  moved  to  a  position  much  nearer.  The 
following  night  an  offer  to  capitulate  was  sent  to  Clinton. 
Negotiations  commenced,  which  resulted  in  the  surrender 
of  the  garrison  as  prisoners  of  war  ;  the  militia  were  to 
be  dismissed  on  their  parole,  not  to  engage  again  in  the 
war  ;  with  the  promise,  that  so  long  as  they  kept  their 
parole,  their  persons  and  property  should  be  secure.  The 
whole  number  of  prisoners  was  about  six  thousand.  May 

This  was  an  irreparable  loss  to  the  patriots.  Immedi- 
ately after  Clinton  sent  off  three  expeditions ;  one  to 
intercept  Colonel  Beaufort,  who  was  approaching  with  a 
Virginia  regiment  to  the  aid  of  Charleston  ;  a  second  to- 
ward Augusta,  and  the  third  toward  Camden.  He  also 
issued  a  proclamation,  threatening  terrible  punishments 
on  those  who  would  not  submit.  This  was  soon  after  fol- 
lowed by  another,  which  offered  pardon  to  all  those  who 
would  return  to  their  allegiance,  and  assist  in  restoring 
the  royal  authority. 

When  Beaufort  heard  of  the  loss  of  Charleston  he 
commenced  to  retreat ;  but  there  was  no  escaping  Tarle- 
ton,  who  made  a  forced  march  of  one  hundred  and  five 
miles  in  fifty-four  hours.  He  surprised  Beaufort  at  Wax- 
haw's,  on  the  boundary  of  North  Carolina,  and  scattered 
his  men,  giving  them  no  quarter,  but  treating  them  in  the 


4*70  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

xxm   most  crue*  an(*  Barbarous  manner.     This  act  has  left  a 

stain  upon  his  reputation. 

1780.  The  other  detachments  passed  through  the  country, 
meeting  with  no  resistance,  as  the  people  felt  it  would  be 
useless  to  attack  them.  In  a  short  time  another  procla- 
mation was  issued,  calling  upon  all,  except  those  actually 
taken  in  arms,  to  renounce  their  parole,  and  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance.  During  this  time,  the  negroes  in  great 
numbers  deserted  their  masters  and  fled  to  the  British. 

June.  South  Carolina  thus  conquered,  Clinton  returned  to  New 
York,  leaving  Cornwallis  to  hold  the  country  in  subjection. 

Incidents  show  the  spirit  of  the  times.  The  Kev. 
James  Caldwell,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  was  pastor  of 
a  church  at  Elizabethtown.  He  had  excited  the  ire  of 
the  Tories  and  British  by  his  ardent  appeals  in  the  cause 
of  his  country.  When  he  preached  he  would  lay  his  pis- 
tols beside  him  :  his  eloquence  stirred  the  people,  with 
whom  his  popularity  was  unbounded.  His  church,  a  sort 
of  rallying  point,  had  been  used  by  the  American  soldiers 
as  a  shelter,  while  its  bell  gave  the  alarm  when  the  enemy 
approached.  The  Tories  called  him  a  "frantic  priest," 
and  "  rebel  firebrand  ; "  but  the  people  spoke  of  him  as 
"  a  rousing  gospel  preacher."  During  the  winter  a  ma- 
rauding company  of  the  British  and  Tories  from  New 
York  burned  the  church,  and  Caldwell  removed  his  family 
to  Connecticut  Farms. 

June          After  Knyphausen  heard  of  the  capture  of  Charleston, 

5-      thinking  that  event  would  have  an  influence  upon  the 

people  of  Jersey,  he  set  out  on  an  expedition,  landing  at 

Elizabethtown,  and   penetrated   as   far   as    Connecticut 

Farms.     He  met,  at  every  step,  with  the  most  determined 

j^  opposition  ;  but,  nevertheless,  the  village  was  sacked  and 

burned.     Mrs.  Caldwell,  in  the  midst  of  the  terror  and 

confusion,  retired  to  a  room  in  the  rear  of  the  parsonage, 

and  knelt  in  prayer,  having  by  the  hand  one  of  her  chil- 


THE   MURDER   OF    MRS.    CALDWELL.  471 

dren.     Presently  some  one  fired  through  the  window,  and 
she  fell  dead,  pierced  by  two  balls.     The  church  and  par- 
sonage  were  both  burned.     Knyphausen,  harassed  by  the    1780. 
militia,  made  an  inglorious  retreat. 

Meantime,  the  atrocious  murder  of  Mrs.  Caldwell  rous- 
ed a  spirit  of  revenge,  unprecedented  in  its  influence.  % 
She  was  highly  connected  and  universally  beloved ;  the 
murder  was  thought  to  have  been  designed.  Caldwell 
preached  more  "  rousing "  sermons  than  ever.  Three 
weeks  later,  Washington  moved  some  of  his  forces  toward 
the  Highlands,  and  Knyphausen  once  more  landed  in  Jer- 
sey, and  pushed  on  toward  Springfield,  hoping  to  gain  the 
passes  beyond  Morristown  ;  but  alarm-guns  spread  the 
news  of  his  approach,  and  General  Greene,  who  had  been 
left  in  command,  was  on  the  alert.  Knyphausen  found 
as  much  opposition  as  on  the  other  occasion.  The  Jersey 
regiment,  commanded  by  Dayton,  and  of  which  Caldwell 
was  chaplain,  was  engaged  in  the  battle.  The  soldiers 
were  in  want  of  wadding,  and  the  chaplain  galloped  to 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  brought  a  quantity  of  Watts' 
psalm  and  hymn  books  and  distributed  them  for  the  pur- 
pose among  the  soldiers.  "  Now/'  cried  he,  "  put  Watts 
into  them,  boys  !  "l  The  Americans  increasing,  Knyp- 
hausen, after  burning  the  village  of  Springfield,  effected 
another  inglorious  retreat. 

The  Baron  De  Kalb  was  sent,  soon  after  the  surrender 
of  Lincoln,  to  take  command  of  the  army  South,  and  all 
the  continental  troops  south  of  Pennsylvania  were  detach- 
ed for  that  service.  In  the  midst  of  these  discourage-  March 
ments,  Lafayette  returned  from  his  visit  to  France.  He 
brought  intelligence  that  a  French  fleet,  with  an  army  on 
board,  had  sailed  to  America,  and  also  there  might  be 

*  i 

1  Washington  Irving. 


472  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

exPec^e^-  soon  a  supply  of  arms  and  clothing  from  the 
same  source. 

The  several  States  were  now  urged  to  send  forward 
their  quotas  of  men  and  provisions,  to  enable  the  army  to 
co-operate  with  the  French.  In  the  camp  there  was  al- 
r  most  a  famine  ;  a  Connecticut  regiment  was  on  the  point 
of  marching  home,  where  they  could  obtain  provisions. 
Congress  was  laboring  to  borrow  money  in  Holland  in 
order  to  supply  these  wants. 

A  French  fleet,  consisting  of  seven  ships  of  the  line, 
and  also  frigates  and  transports,  at  length  appeared  at 
July.  ]Sj"eWp0rk  This  was  the  first  division,  consisting  of  six 
thousand  land  troops.  To  avoid  disputes  that  might  arise 
from  military  etiquette,  Count  Eochambeau,  their  com- 
mander, was  instructed  to  put  himself  under  the  command 
of  Washington.  The  expected  supplies  of  arms  and 
clothing  did  not  arrive,  and  for  the  want  of  them,  the 
American  army  could  not  co-operate  in  an  attack  upon 
New  York. 

The  French  fleet  was  followed  by  one  from  England, 
of  equal  strength,  and  now  Clinton,  trusting  to  his  supe- 
rior naval  force,  made  preparations  to  attack  the  French 
at  Newport  ;  but  as  he  and  Admiral  Arbuthnot  could  not 
agree  as  to.  the  plan,  the  project  was  abandoned.  The 
British,  instead,  blockaded  the  French.  News  came,  not 
long  after,  that  the  second  division  designed  for  the  Uni- 
ted States  was  blockaded  at  Brest  by  another  British 
squadron.  Thus,  for  the  third  time,  the  Americans  were 
disappointed  in  their  hopes  of  aid  from  the  French  fleet, 
and,  instead,  the  militia  of  New  England  was  called  out 
to  defend  it  at  Newport. 

m.  In  the  South  was  the  quietness  that  reigns  in  a  con- 
quered country  ;  but  the  unsubdued  spirit  of  the  patriots 
was  soon  aroused  by  their  partisan  leaders, — Sumter, 
Clarke,  Pickens,  and  Francis  Marion,  the  latter  a  Hugue- 
not by  descent,  and  who  had  served  against  the  Cherokees 


GATES    ASSUMES   THE   COMMAND.  473 

at  the  close  of  the  French  war.     These  leaders,  with  their  CHAP. 

bands,  generally  horsemen,  scoured  the  country,  and  im-  , 

proved  every  opportunity  to  make  a  dash  at  parties  of  1780. 
British  or  Tories.  At  first  they  were  almost  destitute  of 
arms  ;  these  their  ingenuity  partially  supplied  by  con- 
verting scythes  and  knives  fastened  to  poles  into  lances  ; 
wood  saws  into  broadswords,  while  the  women  cheerfully 
gave  their  pewter  dishes  to  be  melted  into  bullets  ;  from 
nitre  found  in  caverns  in  the  mountains,  and  charcoal 
burned  upon  their  hearths,  they  made  their  powder.  So 
effectually  did  they  conduct  this  irregular  warfare,  that 
ere  long  foraging  parties  of  the  enemy  dared  not  venture 
far  from  the  main  army.  If  these  patriots  were  repulsed 
in  one  place,  they  would  suddenly  appear  in  another,  as 
vigorous  as  ever.  While  Sumter — characterized  by  Corn- 
wallis,  as  the  South  Carolina  "  G-ame  Cock " — with  his 
band,  was  on  the  Catawba,  Marion — known  as  the  "  Swamp 
FOX  »_ was  issuing,  "  with  his  ragged  followers,"  from  the 
swamps  along  the  Lower  Peedee, 

Congress  now  resolved  to  send  General  Gates  to  take 
command  of  the  southern  army.  Great  expectations  were 
raised  when  it  was  known  that  the  conqueror  of  Burgoyne 
was  about  to  assume  the  command.  But  General  Charles 
Lee  remarked,  "  That  his  northern  laurels  would  soon  be 
changed  into  southern  willows." 

De  Kalb,  with  the  regiments  under  his  command,  re- 
tarded by  want  of  provisions,  moved  slowly  south.  His 
soldiers  could  only  by  great  exertion  obtain  their  necessary 
supplies  in  the  barren  region  through  which  they  passed. 
Because  of  this  want,  he  was  forced  to  halt  three  weeks 
on  Deep  Kiver,  one  of  the  upper  tributaries  of  Cape  Fear 
Eiver  ;  there  Gates  overtook  him,  and  assumed  the  com- 
mand. Contrary  to  the  advice  of  De  Kalb  and  his  offi- 
cers, who  recommended  a  circuitous  route  through  the 
fertile  and  friendly  county  of  Mecklenburg,  Gates  imme- 


474  HISTOEY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 


gave  orders  to  march  direct  on  Camden.     He  said 
the  wagons  coming  from  the  north,  and  laden  with  pro- 

1780*.  visions,  would  overtake  them  in  two  days.  They  marched 
through  a  region  of  pine  barrens  interspersed  with  swamps, 
and  almost  destitute  of  inhabitants.  Their  only  food  was 
green  corn,  unripe  apples  and  peaches,  and  such  lean  wild 
cattle  as  chance  threw  in  their  way.  The  wagons  never 
overtook  them,  but  disease  did,  and  the  suffering  soldiers 
were  greatly  enfeebled.  After  a  toilsome  march  of  nearly 

Aug.  three  weeks,  he  encamped  at  Clermont,  about  twelve 
miles  from  Camden.  His  army  had  increased  almost  daily, 
principally  from  North  Carolina  and  Yirginia,  and  now 
numbered  nearly  four  thousand,  of  whom  two-thirds  were 
continentals. 

Lord  Kawdon,  when  he  heard  of  the  approach  of  Gates, 
retreated  and  concentrated  his  forces  at  Camden,  at  which 
place  Cornwallis  had  just  arrived  from  Charleston  to  take 
command. 

Gates  made  a  move  the  following  night  to  take  a  po- 
sition nearer  Camden,  and  Cornwallis  made  a  similar  move 
to  surprise  Gates.  The  advance  guards  met  in  the  woods  ; 
after  some  skirmishing,  both  armies  halted  till  morning. 

Aug.  With  the  dawn,  the  battle  commenced.  The  British 
*  rushed  on  with  fixed  bayonets  against  the  centre  of  the 
American  army,  where  the  militia  were  posted  ;  they  fled 
immediately,  throwing  down  their  arms  lest  they  should 
be  encumbered  in  their  headlong  flight.  Gates  himself 
and  Governor  Caswell  were  both  carried  off  the  field  by 
the  torrent  of  fugitives.  The  continentals  stood  their 
ground  firmly,  until  their  brave  commander,  De  Kalb, 
who  had  received  eleven  wounds,  fell  exhausted — then 

also  gave  way. 

The  American  army  was  completely  routed,  scattered 
in  small  parties,  and  in  all  directions.  Their  loss,  in  slain 
and  prisoners,  was  nearly  eighteen  hundred,  besides  all 
their  baggage  and  artillery.  The  road  was  strewed  with 


DEFEAT  AT  CAMDEN — DEATH  OF  DE  KALB.        475 

the  dead  and  wounded,  the  work  of  the  British  cavalry,  CHAP. 

which  the  impetuous  Tarleton  urged  on  in  pursuit  of  the  ' 

fugitives  for  twenty-eight  miles. 

Certain  of  victory,  Gates  imprudently  made  no  ar- 
rangements for  a  retreat,  or  the  preservation  of  his  stores, 
but  instead,  he  met  with  the  most  disastrous  defeat  ever 
experienced  by  an  American  army.  Truly,  his  northern 
laurels  had  degenerated  into  southern  willows  !  A  few 
days  after  the  battle,  he  arrived  with  about  two  hundred 
followers  at  Charlotte,  in  North  Carolina. 

De  Kalb  was  found  by  the  British  on  the  field  still 
alive  ;  his  aide-de-camp,  De  Buysson,  would  not  leave 
him,  but  generously  suffered  himself  to  be  taken  prisoner. 
The  Baron  lingered  for  a  few  days.  His  last  •moments 
were  employed  in  dictating  a  letter  to  the  officers  and  men 
of  his  division,  expressing  for  them  his  warmest  affection. 

Some  days  before  the  late  battle,  Sumter  fell  upon  a 
convoy  of  supplies  approaching  Camden  for  the  British, 
and  took  two  hundred  prisoners.  When  Cornwallis  heard 
of  it,  he  sent  Tarleton  in  pursuit,  who  rode  so  hard,  that 
half  his  men  and  horses  broke  down.  When  he  arrived 
on  the  Catawba,  Sumter  had  reason  to  think  himself  be- 
yond pursuit,  and  halted  to  refresh  his  men,  when  he  was 
completely  taken  by  surprise,  his  company  routed,  and 
his  prisoners  rescued.  Thus,  within  three  months,  two 
American  armies  had  been  defeated,  and  scattered  in 
every  direction. 

Gates  continued  to  retreat  toward  the  North^  having 
now  about  a  thousand  men.  Maryland  and  Virginia  made 
great  exertions  to  recruit  the  army,  but  with  little  suc- 
cess. 

Cornwallis,  instead  of  conciliating  the  people  by  clem- 
ency, excited 'them  to  intense  hostility  by  cruelty.    Of  the 
prisoners  taken  at  Sumter' s  defeat,  there  were  some 
had  given  their  parole  not  to  engage  in  the  war  ;  a  por- 
tion of  these  were  hanged  upon  the  spot.     There  was 


476  HISTOKY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP.  more*evenge  and  hatred  exhibited  in  the  South  by  the 

1  Whigs  and  Tories  against  each  other,  than  in  any  other 

1T80.  section  of  the  States.  The  severity  of  Cornwallis,  how- 
ever, did  not  deter  the  patriots  from  action.  Marion  was 
still  in  the  field,  and  the  untiring  Surnter  soon  collected 
another  force,  with  which  he  harassed  the  enemy. 

Washington  wished  to  strike  a  decisive  blow,  and  he 
invited  Kochambeau,  who  was  commanding  the  French 
troops  at  Newport,  to  meet  him  at  Hartford,  to  devise  a 
plan  of  attack  upon  New  York.  After  consultation,  it 
was  found  that  the  French  naval  force  was  insufficient  to 
cope  wittf'the  British  fleet  at  New  York.  Accordingly, 
the  French  Admiral  on  the  West  India  station  was  invited 
to  co-operate  ;  and,  until  he  could  be  heard  from,  the  en- 

«terprise  was  postponed. 
While  Washington  was  thus  absent  from  head-quar- 
ters, a  nefarious  plot,  which  had  been  in  train  for  some 
months,  came  to  light.  One  of  the  bravest  officers  of  the 
American  army  was  about  to  tarnish  his  fair  name  as  a 
patriot,  and  bring  upon  it  the  scorn  and  contempt  of  all 
honorable  men.  It  was  discovered  that  Arnold  had  prom- 
ised to  betray  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  the  important 
fortress  of  West  Point.  The  wounds  he  had  received  at 
the  battle  of  Behmus's  Heights  had  unfitted  him  for  ac- 
tive  service,  and  he  was  placed  in  command  at  Philadel- 
phia. There  he  lived  in  a  very  extravagant  style  ;  in- 
volved himself  in  debts,  to  pay  which  he  engaged  in  pri- 
vateering and  mercantile  speculations,  most  of  which 
were  unsuccessful.  He  was  accused  of  using  the  public 
funds,  and  condemned  by  a  court-martial  to  receive  a 
reprimand  from  the  Commander-in-chief,  who  performed 
the  unpleasant  duty  as  delicately  as  possible!!  Yet  Arnold 
felt  the  disgrace,  and  determined  to  be  revenged.  While 
in  Philadelphia  he  married  into  a  Tory  family,  which 
opened  a  way  to  an  intercourse  witL  British  officers.  His 

*   *v.  • 


TREASON  OF  ARNOLD MAJOR  JOHN  ANDRE.        477 

merits  as  an  officer  were  great,  but  Congress  evidently 


took  into  consideration  his  private  character.     The  mem-  . 

bers  from  Connecticut  knew  him  well.  He  was  prover-  1780. 
bially  dishonest  in  his  dealings,  disregarded  the  rights  of 
others,  indifferent  as  to  what  men  thought  of  his  integrity, 
and  to  those  under  him  cruel  and  tyrannical.  In  conse- 
quence of  these  inexcusable  faults  many  distrusted  him. 
The  question  has  been  raised,  Why  did  Washington  trust 
Arnold  ?  Evidently,  because  he  knew  him  only  as  an 
efficient  and  brave  officer.  It  is  not  probable  any  person 
took  the  liberty  of  whispering  to  the  Commander-in-chief 
the  defects  of  Arnold's  private  character.  We  know  that 
during  his  whole  life,  Washington  was  governed  by  the 
principle  of  appointing  to  office  none  but  honest  men. 

In  the  midst  of  his  troubles,  Arnold's  selfishness  be- 
came superior  to  his  patriotism,  and  he  opened  a  corre- 
spondence with  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  under  the  signature  of 
G-ustayus.  For  months  this  continued,  when  he  made 
himself  known.  In  the  mean  time,  he  applied  to  Wash- 
ington  and  obtained  the  command  of  West  Point,  with 
the  full  intention  of  betraying  that  important  post.  *  *. 

In  the  British  army  was  a  young  man  of  pleasing  ad- 
dress ;  accomplished  in  mental  acquirements,  and  as 
amiable  as  he  was  brave.  Disappointed  in  love,  he  had 
joined  the  army  and  made  fame  the  object  of  his  ambi- 
tion ;  as  capable  of  planning  the  amusements  for  a  ball  or 
a  masquerade  as  of  fulfilling  the  duties  of  his  office — that 
of  adjutant-general.  He  won  many  friends,  and  with  Sir  * 
Henry  Clinton  was  a  special  favorite.  It  devolved  upon 
this  young  man,  Major  John  Andre,  to  answer  the  letters 
of  "  Gustavus."  This  he  did  under  the  feigned  name  of 
"  John  Anderson."  When  Arnold  revealed  his  true  char- 
acter, Andre  -volunteered  to  go  up  the  Hudson  on  board 
the  sloop-of-war  Vulture,  to  have  an  interview  with  him, 
and  make  the  final  arrangements  for  carrying  out  the 
treachery. 


1 


*    • 

478  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.         The  Vulture  came  to  anchor  a  short  distance  below 

!  the  American  lines.     Thence  a  flag  was  sent  to  Arnold, 

1780.  giving  him  the  information.  In  the  evening  the  latter 
2it '  sent  a  boat  to  bring  Andre  ashore.  ,  The  night  passed, 
however,  before  their  plans  were  arranged,  and  Andre  was 
compelled,  though  very  unwillingty,  to  pass  the  next  day 
within  the  American  lines.  During  the  day  the  Vulture 
attracted  the  attention  of  some  American  gunners,  who 
began  to  fire  upon  her,  and  she  dropped  down  the  stream. 
For  some  unexplained  reason,  the  man  who  had  brought 
Andre  ashore  refused  to  take  him  back  to  the  sloop,  and 
he  was  forced  to  return  to  New  York  by  land.  He  changed 
his  uniform  for  a  citizen's  dress,  and  with  a  pass  from  Ar- 
jiold,  under  the  name  of  John  Anderson,  set  out.  Passing 
to  the  east  side  of  the  river,  he  travelled  on  unmolested 
until  he  came  in  the  vicinity  of  Tarrytown.  There  he 
was  arrested  by  three  young  men,  John  Paulding,  David 
Willl'ams,  and  Isaac  Van  Wart.  They  asked  him  some 
questions,  and  he,  supposing  them  Tories,  did  not  pro- 
duce his  pass,  but  said  he  was  "  from  below,"  meaning 
New  York,  and  that  he  was  a  British  officer,  travelling  on 
important  business.  When  he  found  his  mistake,  he 
offered  them  his  watch,  his  purse,  and  any  amount  of 

«  money,  if  they  would  let  him  pass.     Their  patriotism  was 

not  to  be  seduced.     Paulding  declared  that  if  he  would 
jgt       give  ten  thousand  guineas  he  should  not  stir  a  step.     In 
searching  his  person,  they  found  in  his  boots  papers  of  a 
Septf1* suspicious  character.    They  brought  him  to  Colonel  Jami- 
23t      son,  the  commanding  officer  on  the  lines  at  Peekskill.    He 
recognized  the  handwriting  as  that  of  Arnold.    The  paper 
contained  a  description  of  West  Point,  and  an  account  of 
its  garrison.     But  he  could  not  believe  that  his  superior 
officer  was  guilty  of  treason,  and  had  it  nof  been  for  the 
^protests  of  Major  Talmadge,  the  second  in  command,  he 
would  have  sent  the  prisoner  to  Arnold  ;  as  it  was,  he 
sent  him  a  letter  giving  an  account  of  the  arrest,  and  of 

*V      4 


. 


1  *  *&. 

*•    fc 

TRIAL    OF    ANDRE — HIS    EXECUTION.  479 

X 

the  papers  found  upon  his  person.     The  papers  iff  sent  CHAP. 
by  express  to  Washington,  now  on  his  way  from  Hartford.  ! 

The  letter  came  to  Arnold  while  he  was  breakfasting  1780. 
with  some  officers,  who  had  just  returned  from  that  place. 
Concealing  his  emotions,  he  rose  from  the  table,  called  his 
wife  out  of  the  room,  briefly  told  her  he  was  a  ruined  man 
and  must  flee  for  his  life.  She  fell  insensible  at  his  feet. 
He  directed  the  messenger  to  attend  to  her,  returned  to 
the  breakfast-room,  excused  himself  on  the  plea  that  he 
must  hasten  to  the  for*- to  receive  the  Commander-in- 
chief.  Then  seizing  the  messenger's  horse,  which  stood 
ready  saddled,  he  rode  with  all  speed  to  the  river,  sprang 
into  his  boat,  and  ordered  the  men  to  row  to  the  Vulture. 
Thence  he  wrote  to  Washington,  begging  him  to  protect* 
his  wife,  who,  he  protested,  was  innocent  of  any  partici- 
pation in  what  he  had  done. 

When  Andre  heard  that  Arnold  was  safe,  he  wrote  to 
Washington,  confessing  the  whole  aifcir.  He  was  imme- 
diately brought  to  trial  under  the  charge  of  being  within 
the  American  lines,  as  a  spy.  Though  cautioned  to  say 
nothing  to  criminate  himself,  he  confessed  the  whole,  and 
on  his  own  confession  he  was  found  guilty.  The  commis- 
sion to  try  him  was  presided  over  by  General  Grreene. 
Lafayette  and  Steuben  were  also  members  of  it.  Andre 
protested  that  he  had  been  induced  to  enter  the  American 
lines  by  the  misrepresentations  of  Arnold.  ^Clinton  made 
every  effort  to  save  his  favorite.  The  amiableness  of  An- 
dre's private  character  enlisted  much  sympathy  in  his  "  v 
behalf.  And  Washington  wished,  if  possible,  to  spare 
him  ;  but  a  higher  duty  forbid  it.  Inexorable  martial  law 
denied  him  his  last  request,  that  he  might  be  shot  as  a 
soldier,  and  not  hanged  as  a  spy. 

^      Oct. 

Cornwallis  at  length  commenced  his  march  toward  * 
North  Carolina.     His  army  was  in  three  divisions  ;  one    gept. 
of  which,  under  Colonel  Patrick  Ferguson,  was  to  move 


*.   *     ,#.  .,«•       ,    ^ 

-    ^ 


• 

480  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


*  near  the  mountains,  to  intimidate  the  Whigs, 
and  enroll  the  numerous  Tories  said  to  be  in  that  region. 
1780.    The  cavalry,  and  a  portion  of  the  light  troops,  under  Tarle- 
ton,  were  to  move  up  the  Catawba,  while  the  main  body, 
under  Cornwallis  himself,  was  to  take  the  route  by  way 
J|  of   Charlotte,  Salisbury,  and  Hillsborough,  through   the 

region  in  which  the  WfiSgs  were  very  numerous.  This 
was  with  the  expectation  of  forming  a  juncture  with 
troops  sent  to  the  lower  Chesapeake  from  New  York.  As 
soon  as  the  British  army  began  its  march,  the  Whigs 
sprang  into  activity,  and  harassed  them  ;  scarcely  did  an 
express  sent  from  any  division  of  the  army  escape  being 
shot  or  taken.  »  Cornwallis  declared  Charlotte  "  the  hor- 
net's nest  of  North  Carolina." 

Ferguson,  the  son  of  a  Scotch  judge  of  eminence,  had 
entered  the  army  from  the  love  of  military  life,  had  seen 
service  in  Germany,  and  was  deemed  by  Cornwallis  an 
excellent  officer.  He  excelled  in  the  use  of  the  rifle,  and 
in  training  others  to  the  use  of  that  weapon.  He  was 
generous  and  humane  ;  in  any  enterprise  persevering  and 
cool.  Over  his  company  of  light-infantry  regulars  he  had 
control,  and  restrained  them  from  deeds  of  violence  ;  but 
he  was  joined  by  a  rabble  of  desperadoes  and  rancorous 
Tories.  As  they  passed  through  the  country,  these  Tories 
committed  outrages  upon  the  inhabitants.  He  met  with 
scarcely  any  opposition.  But  information  of  these  out- 
rages and  of  his  approach  ha$L  spread  rapidly  throughout 
$•  the  region.  Little  did  Ferguson  think  that  at  this  time, 
when  he  neither  saw  nor  heard  of  an  enemy  —  for  all  his 
expresses  were  cut  off  —  that  from  the  distant  hills  and 
valleys  of  the  Clinch  and  the  Holston,  and  from  the  eastern 
spurs  of  the  mountains,  companies  of  mounted  backwoods- 
men —  their  only  baggage  a  knapsack  and  blanket,  their 
*"  only  weapon  a  rifle  —  were  passing  silently  through  the 
forests  to  a  place  of  rendezvous  in  his  front.  The  most 
formidable  of  these  were  from  Tennessee  and  Kentucky, 


. 


BATTLE    OF    KING'S   MOUNTAIN.  48] 

under  Colonels  Sevier  and  Shelby, — afterward  first  gov-  CHAP 

-A..X.  -A.  VI 

ernors  of  those  States. 

Kumors  stole  into  his  camp  that  these  half-farmers  1780. 
and  graziers  and  half-hunters  were  assembling  ;  but  he 
scouted  the  idea  that  they  could  oppose  him  ;  though, 
when  he  received  more  correct  information,  he  begESRjto 
retreat  "as  rapidly  as  possible.  He  had  not  been  long  on 
his  way  when  this  motley  host,  three  thousand  strong, 
came  together.  They  held  a  council ;  they  were  not  to 
be  baffled  ;  about  nine  hundred  mounted  their  fleetest 
horses  and  started  in  pursuit.  They  rode  for  thirty-six 
hours,  part  of  the  time  through  a  drenching  rain,  dis- 
mounting but  once.  Ferguson  was  astonished  at  their 
perseverance.  He  pushed  for  a  strong  position  on  King's 
Mountain,  near  the  Catawba.  This  mountain  rises  almost 
like  a  cone  ;  its  top  was  sparsely  covered  with  tall  forest 
trees,  while  at  the  base  they*were  more  dense.  On  the 
level  space  on  the  top  he  arranged  Ms  men,  saying, 'with 
an  oath,  that  the  "  rebels  "  could  not  drive  him  from  his 
position.  .{  °9ct' 

The  backwoodsmen  approached,  reconnoitred,  held  a 
council,  then  dismounted  to  altack  the  enemy  in  three 
divisions — in  front,  and  on  the  right  and  left  flanks.  The 
battle  soon  commenced,  the  Americans  crept  up  the  sides 
of  the  mountain,  and  with  deliberate  aim  poured  in  their 
deadly  bullets.,  Ferguson,  on  a  white  charger,  rode  round  ,£ 
and  round  the  crest  of  the*hill,  and  cheered  his  men.  No 
impression  was  made  on  the  assailants.  He  ordered  the* 
regulars  to  charge  bayonet,  and  they  drove  the  left  division 
down  the  side  of  the  mountain — for  the  backwoodsmen 
had  no  bayonets.  Presently  the  regulars  were  taken  in 
flank,  and  they  retreated  to  the  top,  where,  by  this  time, 
the  second  division  had  clambered  up.  This  they  drove 
back  also  ;  but  before  the  regulars,  now  almost  exhausted, 
could  regain  their  position,  the  third  division  was  on  the 
plain.  Thus  it  was,  as  often  as  a  division  retired  before 
31 


t}..  .;. 

^P> 

" 


482    «  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xixvi   *^e  Bayonet,  another  gave  relief.     Ferguson  passed  from 
point  to  point,  and  cheered  and  rallied  his  men  ;  but  sud- 

1790.  denly  his  white  charger  was  seen  dashing  down  the  moun- 
tain-side without  a  rider :  he  had  fallen  by  a  rifle-ball. 
The  animating  spirit  was  gone  ;  the  British  and  Tories 
grounded  their  arms  and  surrendered  at  discretion.  Three 
hundred  had  been  killed  of  wounded,  and  more  than  eight 
hundred  were  made  prisoners.  The  backwoodsmen  lost 
but  twenty  slain  and  a  somewhat  larger  number  wounded. 
Ten  of  the  Tories,  who  had  been  especially  cruel  toward 
their  countrymen,  were  hanged  upon  the  spot. 

The  backwoodsmen  disbanded  and  returned  home  ; 
their  victory  had  revived  the  drooping  spirits  of  the  south- 
ern patriots.  The  battle  of  King's  Mountain  bore  the 
same  relation  to  Cornwallis,  that  the  battle  of  Bennington 
did  to  Burgoyne  ;  and  both  were  won  by  the  undisciplined 
yeomanry. 


t 


When  Cornwallis  heard  of  the  defeat  of  Ferguson  he 
retreated  from  Salisbury  to  Winnsborough,  in  South  Car- 
olina. In  one  portion  of  the  country  Marion  appeared, 
but  Tarleton  forced  him  to  retreat  to  the  swamps.  Then 
the  active  Sumter  appeared  in  force  again,  and  repulsed  a 
detachment  sent  against  him.  Tarleton  went  in  pursuit, 
but  Sumter  learned  of  his  approach,  and  began  to  retreat 
rapidly,  while  Tarleton  pressed  on  with  his  usual  vigor. 
Sumter  chose  an  advantageous  position  ;  Tarleton  attacked 
him,  but  was  repulsed,  and  in  turn  forced  to  retreat.  Sum- 
ter was  severely  wounded  ;  he  was  compelled  to  retire  for 
some  months  ;  his  band,  in  the  mean  time,  separated. 

Gates  now  advanced  South  to  Charlotte.     Here  he 

was   overtaken   by  Greene,  who,  on   the    suggestion  of 

Washington,  had  been  appointed  by  Congress  to  the  com- 

Tnand  of  Che  southern  army.     Congress  had  also  ordered 

an  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of  Gates. * 

Greene  found  the  remnants  of  the  army  in  a  miserable 


0 

*  . 

CIVIL   WAR   IN    THE    SOUTH — THE    ARMED    NEUTRALITY.       483 

f 

condition,  without    pay,  without    necessaries,  and   their 
clothes  in  rags.    To  increase  the  army,  divisions  were  sent 
from  the  North.     Morgan  with  a  regiment,  Lee's  body  of    1780. 
horse,  and  some  companies  of  artillery,  were  with  Gates 
when  Greene  arrived. 

During  this  time,  a  civil  war,  almost  savage  in  its 
character,  was  raging  all  over  the  Carolinas.  Little  par- 
ties of  Whigs  and  Tories  fought  with  each  other  whenever 
they  met  ;  they  ravaged  each  others'  neighborhoods,  and 
plundered  the  people  of  their  furniture,  and  even  of  their 
clothes. 

The  year  was  about  to  end,  with  the  British  power 
triumphant  in  the  three  southern  States.  In  Georgia  the 
royal  government  was  re-established,  while  the  important 
points  held  in  the  Carolinas  gave  the  enemy  almost  the 
entire  control  of  those  States.  The  numerous  Tories  were 
exultant,  while  the  whole  country  was  nearly  exhausted 
by  the  long  continuance  of  the  war. 

During  the  summer  of  this  year,  it  was  thought  Eng- 
land would  find  abundant  employment  for  her  armies 
and  navy  nearer  home.  Because  she  had  the  'power,  by 
means  of  a  vast  navy,  she  assumed  the  right  to  board  the 
ships  of  any  neutral  nation,  and  to  search  for  merchandise 
contraband  of  war — a  practice  as  arbitrary  and  arrogant 
as  it  was  unjust  and  injurious.  Queen  Catharine,  of  Rus- 
sia, would  submit  no  longer  to  the  imposition.  She  pro- 
posed to  enter  into  a  combination,  known  as  the  "  Armed 
Neutrality,"  with  Denmark  and  Sweden,  to  enforce  the 
policy  that  "  Free  ships  make  free  goods."  That,  in  time 
of  war,  ships  of  neutral  nations  could  carry  merchandise 
without  liability  to  seizure  by  the  belligerent  powers.  The 
British  ministry  hesitated  to  enlist  the  whole  maritime 
world  against  their  commerce,  that  was  already  suffering 
much.  Holland  gave  indications  that  she  was  willing, 
not  only  to  join  the  "  armed  neutrality,"  but  to  enter  into 
a  commercial  treaty  with  the  United  States.  This  inten- 


484  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


I 


tion  became  known  by  the  capture  of  a  correspondence  on 
-  the  subject.    The  vessel  on  board  of  which  Henry  Laurens, 
1T80.    the  American  Minister  to  Holland,  had  sailed,  was  cap- 
tured by  an  English  frigate.     Laurens  threw  the  papers 
overboard,  but  an  English  sailor  leaped  into  the  water  and 
recovered  them. 

Laurens  was  descended  from  one  of  the  many  Hugue- 
not families  that  sought  an  asylum  in  South  Carolina  ; 
nor  did  he  belie  the  nobleness  of  his  ancestry.  He  was 
taken  to  England  and  confined  a  close  prisoner  in  the 
Tower  of  London,  on  a  charge  of  high  treason,  plied  with 
inducements  to  desert  his  country's  cause,  but  without 
avail.  He  stood  firm,  and  was  finally  liberated,  to  pro- 
ceed to  Paris,  there  to  aid  in  negotiating  a  treaty  with 
England  herself,  on  behalf  of  his  country,  which  had  fought 
its  way  to  independence. 

The  British  ministry  demanded  that  this  correspond- 
ence should  be  disavowed,  but  the  States-General,  with 
their  usual  coolness,  gave  an  evasive  answer.  England 
declared  war  immediately,  and  her  fleet  exhibited  their 
thirst  for  plunder  by  entering  at  once  on  a  foray  against 
the  commerce  of  Holland  throughout  the  world. 

England  now  had  reason  to  be  alarmed  at  surrounding 
dangers.  Spain  joined  France,  and  their  combined  fleets 
far  outnumbered  hers  in  the  West  Indies.  Holland  de- 
clared war  against  her,  while  nearer  home  there  was  dan- 
ger. Eighty  thousand  Irishmen  had  volunteered  to  repel 
a  -threatened  invasion  from  France  ;  but  now  these  volun- 
teers, with  arms  in  their  hands,  were  clamoring  against 
the  oppression  that  England  exercised  over  their  industry 
and  commerce,  and  threatened  to  follow  the  example  of 
the  American  colonies  in  not  using  British  manufactures  ; 
and,  what  was  still  more  ominous,  demanded  that  the 
Irish  Parliament  should  be  independent  of  English  con- 
trol. The  whole  world  was  affected  by  these  struggles. 
Spain  sent  her  ships  to  prey  upon  English  commerce,  and 


*•* 


THE  ENEKGY  OF  ENGLAND.  485 


an  army  to  besiege  the  English  garrison  at   Gibraltar.  CHAP. 

France  had  armies  against  her  in  America  and  in  India —    ' 

both  aiding   rebellious   subjects.     To   meet  these  over-    1780. 
whelming  powers,  England  put  forth  gigantic  efforts.    We 
must  admire  the  indomitable  spirit,  that  steady  energy, 
with  which  she  repelled  her  enemies,  and  held  the  world 
at  bay. 

* .   ,^s  U-,-%,.*  :; 

•JB,-*  *  at?  * 


• 


CHAPTEK     XXXVII. 

WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION— CONTINUED. 

w 

The  Spirit  of  Revolt  among  the  Soldiers. — Arnold  ravages  the  Shores  of  the 
Chesapeake. — Battle  of  the  Cowpens. — Morgan  retreats;  Cornwalh's 
pursues. — Greene  marches  South. — Lee  scatters  the  Tories. — Battle  of 
Guildford  Court  House. — Conflict  at  Hobkirk's  Hill. — The  Execution  of 
Hayne. — Battle  of  Eutaw  Springs. — Plans  to  Capture  New  York. — 
Wayne's  Daring  at  the  James  River. — National  Finances. — Robert  Mor- 
ris.— French  and  American  Armies  on  the  Hudson. — Clinton  deceived. — 
Combined  Armies  beyond  the  Delaware. — French  Fleet  in  the  Ches- 
apeake.— Cornwallis  in  the  Toils. — The  Attack ;  Surrender  of  the  Brit- 
ish Army  and  Navy. — Thanksgivings. 

CHAP.     THE  last  year  of  the  struggle  for  Independence  opened, 

' \  as  had  all  the  others,  with  exhibitions  of  distress  among 

1781.  the  soldiers.  The  regiments  of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  en- 
camped for  the  winter  near  Morristown,  grew  impatient 
at  the  indifference  of  Congress  to  their  necessities.  In 
truth,  that  body  was  more  or  less  distracted  by  factions, 
and  made  no  special  efforts  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the 
soldiers.  Thirteen  hundred  of  these  men,  indignant  at 
Jan.  sucn  neglect,  broke  out  in  open  revolt,  and  under  the 
command  of  their  sergeants,  marched  off  toward  Philadel- 
phia, to  lay  their  complaints  before  Congress. 

General  Wayne,  to  prevent  their  pillaging,  sent  after 
them  provisions  ;  he  himself  soon  followed,  and  urged 
them  to  return  to  their  duty.  The  sergeants,  at  his  in- 
stance, proposed  to  send  a  deputation  to' Congress,  and 
to  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  but  the  soldiers  refused  to 

^ 


m 

% 

f 


KEVOLTS   IN    THE    ARMY.  487 

entertain  the  proposition,  and  persisted  in  going  them-  CHAP. 

selves.     Though  thus  mutinous,  they  scorned  the  thought  

of  turning  "  Arnolds,"  as  they  expressed  it,  but  promptly  1781. 
arrested  as  spies  two  Tory  emissaries  sent  by  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  to  tamper  with  their  fidelity. *  These  emissaries 
were  soon  after  hanged.  Wayne  in  his  zeal  placed  him- 
self before  the  mutineers  and  cocked  his  pistols.  In  an 
instant  their  bayonets  were  at  his  breast.  They  besought 
him  not  to  fire,  saying  :  "  We  love,  we  respect  you,  but 
you  are  a  dead  man  if  you  fire.  Do  not  mistake  us  ;  we 
are  not  going  to  the  enemy  ;  were  they  now  to  come  out  ^ 
you  would  see  us  fight  under  your  orders,  with  as  much 
resolution  and  alacrity  as  ever." 

Intelligence  of  this  revolt  excited  great  alarm  in  Phila- 
delphia. Congress  sent  a  committee,  which  was  accom- 
panied by  Keed,  the  President  of  Pennsylvania,  to  meet 
the  insurgents  and  induce  them  to  return  to  their  duty. 
The  committee  proposed  to  relieve  their  present  wants,  to 
give  them  certificates  for  the  remainder  of  their  pay,  and 
to  indemnify  them  for  the  loss  they  had  sustained  by  the 
depreciation  of  the  continental  money.  Permission  was 
also  given  to  those  who  had  served  three  years  to  with- 
draw from  the  army.  On  these  conditions  the  soldiers 
returned  to  the  ranks.  When  offered  a  reward  for  deliv- 
ering up  the  British  emissaries  sent  to  corrupt  them,  they 
refused  it,  saying  :  "  We  ask  no  reward  for  doing  our 
duty  to  our  country." 

The  discontent  spread.  Three  weeks  after  this  affair, 
the  New  Jersey  line  also  revolted  ;  but  that  was  sup- 
pressed by  a  strong  hand  in  a  few  days.  So  much  discon- 
tent in  the  army  spread  consternation  throughout  the 
country ;  not,  however,  without  a  salutary  effect.  The 
patriots  were  awakened  to  make  greater  exertions  to  pro- 
vide for  the  necessities  of  the  soldiers.  Their  self-denials, 
labors,  and  sufferings  had  been  too  long  overlooked. 

Urgent  demands  were  mow  sent  to  all   the   States, 


488  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xxxvfi    esPecia^7  those  of  New  England,  to  furnish  the  army 

with  the  proper  necessaries.     To  encourage  enlistments, 

1781  some  of  the  States  promised  to  provide  for  the  families  of 
the  soldiers,  and  Congress  endeavored  to  obtain  a  foreign 
loan. 

Arnold,  as  the  reward  of  his  treachery,  received  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  commission  of  brigadier-general 
in  the  British  army.  Lost  to  shame,  he  put  forth  a 
"  Proclamation  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Continen- 
tal Army."  He  contrasted  their  privations  and  want  of 
pay  with  the  comforts  and  full  pay  of  the  British  soldiers, 
and  offered  every  man  who  should  desert  to  the  royal 
cause,  fifteen  dollars  as  a  bounty,  and  full  pay  thereafter. 
The  "  proclamation"  had  no  other  effect  than  to  increase 
the  detestation  in  which  the  soldiers  held  the  traitor. 

Clinton  sent  Arnold  with  sixteen  hundred  men,  British 
and  Tories,  to  ravage  the  coasts  of  Virginia.  Thomas 
Jefferson,  who  was  then  governor,  called  out  the  militia 
Jan.  to  defend  Kichmond  ;  but  only  about  two  hundred  men 
could  be  raised,  and  with  great  difficulty  most  of  the  pub- 
lic stores  were  removed.  After  Arnold  had  taken  pos- 
session of  the  town,  he  proposed  to  spare  it,  if  permitted 
to  bring  up  the  ships  and  load  them  with  the  tobacco 
found  in  the  place.  Jefferson  promptly  rejected  the  prop- 
osition. Arnold  destroyed  a  great  amount  of  private 
property,  burned  the  public  buildings,  and  some  private 
dwellings.  He  then  dropped  down  the  river,  landing  oc- 
casionally to  burn  and  destroy. 

Baron  Steuben,  who  was  at  this  time  in  Virginia  en- 
listing soldiers  for  Greene's  army,  had  not  an  adequate 
force  to  repel  the  invaders.  Washington  sent  to  his  aid 
Lafayette,  with  twelve  hundred  men,  principally  from 
New  England  and  Jersey.  They  hoped  to  capture  Ar- 
nold. On  the  same  errand,  two  French  shf|)s  of  war  con- 
trived to  enter  the  Chesapeake.  Soon  after,  the  whole 


* 


BATTLE    OF   THE    COWPENS.  489 

French  fleet,  with  troops  on  board,  sailed  from  Newport    CHAP. 

for  the  same  place.     A  British  fleet  followed  from  New  ' 

York,  and  an  indecisive  engagement  took  place  between  1781. 
them  off  the  entrance  to  the  bay.  The  French  fleet, 
worsted  in  the  fight,  returned  to  Newport,  while  the  Brit- 
ish entered  the  bay  and  reinforced  Arnold  with  two  thou- 
sand men,  under  General  Phillips,  who  had  recently  been 
exchanged  for  General  Lincoln.  Phillips  assumed  the 
command,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  British  officers, 
who  disliked  to  serve  under  the  traitor. 

Thus,  for  the  fourth  time,  the  French  fleet  failed  to 
co-operate  with  the  American  land-forces;  in  consequence 
of  which  Lafayette  was  compelled  to  halt  on  his  way  at 
Annapolis. 

Phillips,  having  now  a  superior  force,  sent  detach-  Mar. 
ments  up  the  rivers  and  ravaged  their  shores.  One  of  the 
vessels  sailed  up  the  Potomac  as  as  far  as  Mount  Vernon. 
The  manager  of  the  estate  saved  the  houses  from  being 
burned  by  furnishing  supplies.  Washington  reproved 
him  in  a  letter,  saying,  he  "would  prefer  the  buildings 
should  be  burned,  than  to  save  them  by  the  pernicious 
practice  of  furnishing  supplies  to  the  enemy." 

Cornwallis,  who  was  at  Winnsborough,  detached  Tarle- 
ton,  with  about  a  thousand  troops,  cavalry  and  light- 
infantry,  to  cut  off  Morgan's  division,  which  was  in  the 
region  between  the  Broad  and  Catawba  rivers.  When 
Morgan  heard  of  Tarleton's  approach,  he  retired  toward 
the  Broad  Kiver,  intending  to  cross  it.  Tarleton  pursued 
with  his  usual  rapidity.  Morgan  saw  that  he  must  be 
overtaken  ;  he  halted,  refreshed  his  men,  and  prepared  for 
the  conflict.  He  chose  his  ground  at  a  place  known  as 
"  The  Cowpens,"  about  thirty  miles  west  of  King's  Moun- 
tain, and  thus  named  because  herds  of  cattle  were  pas- 
tured in  that  portion  of  the  Thickety  mountains.  The  Jan- 
two  armies  were  about  equal  in  numbers.  More  than  half 
of  Morgan's  were  North  and  South  Carolina  militia,  under 


490  HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


xxlra*  ^°l°nel  Pickens.  Morgan  disposed  his  men  to  the  best 
-  advantage  ;  the  Continentals  on  a  woody  hill,  and  the 
1781.  militia  in  a  line  by  themselves.  He  was  deficient  in  cav- 
alry, but  placed  what  he  had  under  Colonel  Washington, 
as  a  reserve.  The  British  and  Tories,  though  fatigued  by 
their  last  night's  march,  were  confident  of  victory  ;  they 
rushed  on  with  shouts.  The  militia  stood  their  ground, 
delivered  their  fire,  but  quailing  before  the  bayonet,  they 
broke  and  fled.  In  pursuing  the  fugitives,  the  enemy 
almost  passed  by  the  Continentals,  who,  to  avoid  being 
taken  in  flank,  fell  back  in  order.  This  movement  the 
British  mistook  for  a  retreat,  and  they  commenced  a  vig- 
orous pursuit,  but  when  they  approached  within  thirty 
yards,  the  Continentals  suddenly  wheeled,  poured  in  a 
deadly  volley,  then  charged  bayonet,  completely  routed 
them,  and  captured  their  colors  and  cannon.  Mean  time 
the  British  cavalry,  under  Tarleton  himself,  continued  the 
pursuit  of  the  militia.  While  thus  rushing  on  in  con- 
fusion, the  American  cavalry  attacked  them  in  flank,  and 
routed  them  also.  These  two  repulses  occurred  almost  at 
the  same  time,  but  in  different  parts  of  the  field.  The 
enemy  were  routed  beyond  recovery,  and  the  Americans 
pursued  them  vigorously.  The  fiery  Tarleton,  accompa- 
nied by  a  few  followers,  barely  escaped  capture.  Of  his 
eleven  hundred  men  he  lost  six  hundred,  while  Morgan's 
loss  was  less  than  eighty. 

When  Cornwallis,  who  was  only  twenty-five  miles  dis- 
tant, heard  of  Tarleton's  defeat,  he  at  once  determined 
upon  his  course.  He  thought  that  Morgan,  encumbered 
with  prisoners  and  spoils,  would  linger  for  some  time  near 
the  scene  of  his  victory.  He  therefore  destroyed  his  bag- 
gage, converted  his  entire  army  into  light  troops,  and  with 
all  his  force  set  out  in  pursuit.  His  object  was  twofold  ; 
to  rescue  the  prisoners,  and  crush  Morgan  before  he  could 
cross  the  Catawba  and  unite  his  force  with  that  of  Gen- 
eral Greene. 

' 


THE    RETREAT    AND    THE   PURSUIT.  491 


Morgan  was  too  watchful  to  be  thus  caught.  He  knew 
Cornwallis  would  pursue  him,  and  he  left  his  wounded 
under  a  flag  of  truce,  and  hurried  on  to  the  Catawba,  and  1781. 
crossed  over.  Two  hours  had  scarcely  elapsed  before  the 
British  vanguard  appeared  on  the  opposite  bank.  A  sud- 
den rise  in  the  river  detained  Cornwallis  two  days  ;  in 
the  mean  time  Morgan  sent  off  his  prisoners,  and  refreshed 
his  men. 

When  Greene  heard  of  Morgan's  victory,  he  put  his 
troops  in  motion,  and  two  days  after  the  passage  of  the 
Catawba  joined  him  and  assumed  the  command.  He  was 
not  yet  able  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  the  retreat  was  con- 
tinued toward  the  Yadkin,  the  upper  course  of  the  Peedee. 
His  encumbered  army  could  move  but  slowly  ;  just  as  his  41 
rear-guard  was  embarking  on  the  river,  the  British  van  Feb. 
came  up.  A  skirmish  ensued,  in  which  the  Americans  3> 
lost  a  few  baggage  wagons.  To-morrow,  thought  Corn- 
wallis, I  shall  secure  the  prize  ;  and  he  halted  for  the 
night  to  rest  his  weary  soldiers.  The  rain  had  poured  in 
torrents,  and  in  the  morning  the  river  was  so  much  swollen, 
that  his  army  could  not  ford  it,  and  Greene  had  secured 
all  the  boats  on  the  other  side.  The  latter^  though  here 
joined  by  other  divisions,  dared  not  risk  a  battle  with  his 
unrelenting  pursuers.  He  called  out  the  militia  in  the 
neighborhood  to  check  the  enemy  at  the  fords,  and  hur- 
ried on  to  cross  the  river  Dan  into  Virginia,  whence  alone 
he  could  receive  recruits  and  supplies.  General  Morgan, 
on  account  of  illness,  now  withdrew  from  the  army,  and 
Greene  left  Colonel  Otho  H.  Williams,  with  some  light- 
armed  troops,  to  keep  the  pursuers  in  check. 

As  soon  as  possible  Cornwallis  crossed  the  Yadkin  ; 
if  the  Americans  could  get  beyond  the  Dan  they  would 
be  safe,  and  he  strained  every  nerve  to  cut  them  off.  He 
supposed  they  could  not  cross  at  the  lower  ferries  for  want 
of  boats,  and  that  they  must  go  higher  up  the  stream, 
where  it  could  be  forded.  With  this  impression  he  pushed 


492  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


for  the  upper  fords,  and  Colonel  Williams  kept  up  his 
delusion  by  manoeuvring  before  him  in  that  direction. 
1781.  But  the  judicious  Greene,  anticipating  the  movement,  had 
taken  measures  to  collect  boats  at  the  lower  ferries,  and 
sent  forward  Kosciusko  to  throw  up  breastworks  to  defend 
*  them.  He  now  urged  on  his  weary  soldiers,  at  the  rate 
of  thirty  miles  a  day,  reached  the  ferries,  and  carried  over 
his  main  body,  and  the  baggage.  Meanwhile,  when  they 
had  sufficiently  retarded  the  pursuers,  by  breaking  down 
bridges  and  carrying  off  provisions,  the  light-troops,  as  if 
for  the  night,  kindled  their  camp-fires  in  sight  of  the  foe  ; 
*£•  then  dashed  off,  and  by  a  rapid  march  of  forty  miles, 
reached  the  ferries  and  passed  over.  In  a  few  hours,  the 
van  of  the  British  appeared  on  the  opposite  bank.  Corn- 
wallis,  in  his  movement  toward  the  upper  fords,  had  gone 
twenty-five  miles  out  of  his  way.  After  a  chase  of  more 
than  two  hundred  miles,  the  object  of  his  pursuit  lay  in 
sight,  but  the  waters  between  could  not  be  forded,  nor 
could  boats  be  obtained.  As  the  two  armies  rested  in 
sight  of  each  other,  how  different  were  their  emotions  ! 
The  one  overflowing  with  gratitude,  the  other  chafed  with 
disappointment. 

The  half-clad  Americans  had  toiled  for  nearly  four 
weeks  over  roads  partially  frozen,  through  drenching  rains, 
without  tents  at  night  ;  multitudes  were  without  shoes, 
and  in  this  instance,  as  in  many  others  during  the  war, 
their  way  could  be  tracked  in  bloody  foot-prints.  Twice 
had  the  waters,  through  which  they  had  safely  passed, 
risen  and  become  impassable  to  their  pursuers,  and  again 
a  river  swollen  by  recent  rains  lay  between  them.  Was 
it  strange,  that  those  who  were  accustomed  to  notice  the 
workings  cf  Providence,  believed  that  He  who  orders  all 
things,  had  specially  interposed  His  arm  for  the  salvation 
of  the  patriots  ? 

After  resting  his  soldiers  —  who,  if  they  were  compelled 
march  rapidly,  were  comfortably  clad  —  Cornwallis  com- 


„ 


p 

GREENE    MARCHES   IN    PURSUIT THE    TORIES    DEFEATED.        493 

menced  to  move  slowly  back.     He  and  his  officers  were  CHAP. 

greatly  mortified  at  their  want  of  success  ;  they  had  made  ' 


great  sacrifices  in  destroying  their  private   stores,  that    1781. 
when  thus  freed  from  encumbrances,  they  could  overtake 
the  Americans  and  completely  disperse  them.      A  few 
days  later,  he  took  post  at  Hillsborough,  whence  he  issued™ 
another  of  his  famous  proclamations. 

General  Greene  refreshed  his  troops,  of  whom  he  wrote 
to  Washington,  that  they  were  "  in  good  spirits,  notwith- 
standing their  sufferings  and  excessive  fatigue."  He  then 
repassed  the  Dan,  and  boldly  marched  in  pursuit,  to  en- 
courage the  Whigs  of  the  Carolinas,  and  prevent  the  To- 
ries from  rising. 

It  was  rumored  that  Tarleton  was  enlisting  and  organ-  * 
izing  great  numbers  of  Tories  in  the  district  between  the 
Haw  and  Deep  rivers.  General  Greene  sent  Colonels  Mar. 
Lee  and  Pickens,  with  their  cavalry,  against  him.  On 
their  way  they  met  three  or  four  hundred  mounted  Tories, 
who  mistook  their  men  for  Tarleton's,  and  came  riding 
up,  shouting  "  Long  live  the  king  ! "  It  was  for  them  a 
sad  mistake.  The  Americans  made  no  reply,  but  sur- 
rounded them,  and  without  mercy  cut  them  to  pieces. 
Another  exhibition  of  that  deadly  rancor  that  prevailed  in 
the  South  between  the  Whigs  and  the  royalists.  This 
check  taught  the  Tories  caution,  and  materially  dimin- 
ished their  enlistments.  Many  others,  on  their  way  to 
the  British  camp,  when  they  heard  of  this  conflict,  re- 
turned to  their  homes. 

Cornwallis,  almost  destitute  of  supplies,  changed  his    Feb. 
position,  and  moved  further  South,     Greene   cautiously     26'  * 
followed,  not  daring,  from  very  weakness,  to  risk  an  en- 
gagement with  the  enemy's  veterans,  except  when  they 
were  in  small  parties.     As  for  himself,  he  was  so  watchful 
against  surprise,  that  he  never  remained  more  than  one 
day  in  the  same  place,  and  never  communicated  to  any 
one  beforehand  where  he  expected  to  encamp. 

.** 


494  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.          Fresh  troops,  in  the  mean  time,  were  gradually  joining 

him  from  Virginia  and   Maryland,  and  when  his  force 

1781.  amounted  to  four  thousand,  he  left  his  baggage  seventeen 
miles  in  the  rear,  and  approached  the  enemy  to  give  them 
battle.  It  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Guilford  Court  House. 
"15. '  He  drew  his  army  up  in  two  lines  ;  the  militia,  in  whom 
jr  he  had  little  confidence,  as  they  were  apt  to  give  way  at 
the  first  charge,  he  placed  behind  a  fence,  and  stationed 
sentries  in  the  rear,  with  orders  to  shoot  the  first  man 
who  should  run.  The  battle  was  fought  in  a  region  cov- 
ered with  thick  woods,  with  cleared  fields  interspersed. 
The  North  Carolina  militia  could  not  withstand  the  shock 
of  the  British  charge,  but  threw  down  their  arms  and  fled. 
The  Virginia  militia,  under  Colonel  Stevens,  stood  their 
ground,  and  for  a  time  kept  up  a  destructive  fire ;  but 
they  too  were  compelled  to  yield  to  the  bayonet.  Now 
the  enemy  pressed  on  in  pursuit,  but  presently  Colonel 
Washington  charged  them  with  his  horse,  and  drove  them 
back.  Then  again  the  British  artillery  opened  upon  the 
American  pursuers,  and  they  in  turn  were  checked. 
Greene  depended  much  on  his  Continentals,  but  one  of 
the  newly-raised  Maryland  regiments  gave  way  before  a 
battalion  led  by  Colonel  Stewart.  The  battalion  was 
presently  checked  by  Colonel  Washington's  cavalry,  and 
the  brave  Stewart  was  himself  slain.  It  was  impossible 
to  retrieve  what  the  North  Carolina  militia  had  lost,  and 
Greene  ordered  a  retreat,  which  he  conducted  with  his 
usual  skill. 

*  Though  Greene  retreated  from  the  field,  Cornwallis 
was  unable  to  pursue.  More  than  a  thousand  of  the  mili- 
tia deserted  and  returned  home,  and  Greene's  army  was 
soon  as  weak  as  ever.  This  has  been  thought  one  of  the 
severest  battles  of  the  whole  war.  "  The  wounded  of  both 
armies  lay  scattered  over  a  wide  space.  There  were  no 
houses  nor  tents  to  receive  them.  The  night  that  followed 
battle  was  dark  and  tempestuous  ;  horrid  shrieks  re- 


, 


CONFLICT   AT    HOBKIRK'S   HILL.  495 

sounded  through  the  woods  ;  many  expired  before  morn-    CHAP 

.X..X../V  v  1 1  • 

ing.     Such  is  war  !  "  . 

Cornwallis's  army  was  so  broken  by  this  battle,  and  1781. 
weakened  by  desertions  and  sickness,  that  it  numbered 
but  about  fourteen  hundred  men.  He  was  compelled  to 
abandon  his  position,  and  fall  back  to  Wilmington,  near 
the  seaboard.  After  recruiting  his  men,  Greene  boldly 
marched  into  South  Carolina,  and  advanced  rapidly  upon 
Camden,  where  Lord  Kawdon  with  a  small  force  held  April 
command.  That  central  position  was  connected,  on  the 
one  hand,  with  Charleston,  and  on  the  other  with  the 
strong  forts  of  Ninety-Six  and  Augusta.  Between  these 
important  points,  there  were  several  smaller  posts.  Lee 
and  Marion  were  sent,  with  their  cavalry,  to  attack 
some  of  these.  Greene  himself  advanced  within  two 
miles  of  the  British  lines,  and  encamped  at  Hobkirk's 
Hill,  near  a  swamp  which  covered  his  left.  Kawdon 
thought  to  surprise  the  Americans,  made  a  circuit  of  the 
swamp,  and  came  suddenly  upon  the  camp  ;  but  the  sur- 
prise was  only  partial.  Greene  promptly  formed  his  line. 
In  moving  along  a  narrow  passage,  the  British  were  ex- 
posed to  a  severe  fire,  and  the  American  infantry  were 
about  to  attack  them  in  flank,  while  the  horse,  under 
Colonel  Washington,  moved  to  charge  them  in  the  rear. 
Kawdon  brought  up  his  reserve  to  counteract  this  move-  April 
ment.  A  regiment  of  Continentals,  in  the  American  25< 
centre,  and  upon  whom  Greene  depended  very  much, 
unexpectedly  gave  way,  and  thus  threw  the  army  into 
confusion,  and  a  retreat  was  ordered. 

The  loss  on  each  side  was  nearly  equal ;  the  Americans, 
however,  brought  off  their  cannon,  and  checked  the  pursuit. 
In  the  mean  while  several  fortified  places  belonging  to  the 
British  fell  into  the  hands  of  Lee  and  Marion,  thus  breaking 
up  the  communication  between  Charleston  and  the  interior. 

Kawdon  abandoned  Camden,  and  retreated  to  Monk's 
Corner,  in  the  vicinity  of  Charleston. 


. 


496  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xxxvn          Greene  marched  against  the  strong  post  of  Ninety-Six, 

but  after  besieging  it  for  some  time,  he  heard  that  Kawdon 

1781.    had  been  reinforced,  and  was  then  hastening  to  relieve  it. 

After  making  a  vigorous  attempt  to  take  the  place  by 

assault,  he  raised  the  siege  and  retreated  across  the  Sa- 

June    luda.      The   heat  had  now  become  excessive,  and  both 

1  R 

Ik  *  armies  retired  from  active  operations  :  the  American  on 
the  hills  of  the  Santee,  and  the  British  on  the  Congaree. 
The  British  had  lost  in  the  space  of  seven  months  the 
greater  part  of  South  Carolina,  and  were  now  restricted  to 
the  region  between  the  Santee  and  the  Lower  Savannah. 
The  partisan  warfare  continued,  although  the  main  armies 
were  at  rest. 

The  British  resolved  to  execute  as  traitors  those  who 
had  given  their  parole  not  to  engage  in  the  war  or  had  re- 
ceived a  protection,  if  they  should  be  taken  prisoners  with 
arms  in  their  hands.  A  distinguished  citizen  of  Charleston, 
Colonel  Isaac  Hayne,  had  been  taken  prisoner  at  the  cap- 
ture of  that  city,  but  owing  to  family  afflictions — a  sick 
and  dying  wife  and  helpless  children — he  gave  his  parole 
to  remain  neutral,  and  was  promised  protection.  In  vio- 
lation of  this  pledge,  he  was  soon  after  ordered  to  take  up 
arms  against  his  countrymen.  He  refused ;  but  instead 
deemed  himself  justified  in  again  joining  the  American 
army. 

He  was  again  taken  prisoner,  and  now  condemned  to 
die  as  a  traitor.  The  inhabitants  of  Charleston,  Whig  and 
Tory,  petitioned  for  his  pardon,  yet  Kawdon  refused,  and 
Hayne  was  hanged.  His  execution  was  looked  upon  as 
contrary  to  military  rule,  cruel  and  unjust.  In  the  minds 
of  the  Whigs  the  bitterest  animosity  was  excited.  Greene 
threatened  to  retaliate.  The  American  soldiers  were  with 
difficulty  restrained  from  putting  to  death  the  British  offi- 
cers whom  they  took  prisoners. 

When  the  heat  of  the  weather  somewhat  abated, 
Greene  moved  from  the  hills  up  the  Wateree  to  Camden, 


v 

BATTLE    OF    EUTAW    SPRINGS.  497 

and  thence  across  the  Congaree  and  down  it  to  the  vicinity 
of  Eutaw  Springs.  The  British,  now  under  Colonel  Stuart, 
retired  before  him  ;  but  the  Americans  surprised  a  large  1781. 
foraging  party  and  took  a  number  of  prisoners.  The  re- 
mainder escaped  and  joined  their  main  force,  which  im- 
mediately drew  up  in  order  of  battle.  Though  the  attack 
was  made  with  great  ardor,  the  enemy  withstood  it  with  j^j 
determined  bravery.  The  contest  raged  most  fiercely 
around  the  artillery,  which  changed  hands  several  times. 
The  British  left  at  length  gave  way,  and  the  Americans 
pursued,  but  presently  the  fugitives  took  possession  of  a 
large  stone  house,  surrounded  by  a  picketed  garden.  From 
this  place  they  could  not  be  immediately  dislodged.  A  Sept. 
British  battalion,  which  had  successfully  resisted  a  charge 
of  the  Americans,  suddenly  appeared  at  the  rear  of  the 
assailants.  The  latter,  disconcerted  by  this  movement, 
and  thrown  into  confusion,  began  to  retreat. 

The  force  of  each  army  was  about  two  thousand.  The 
loss  of  the  British  was  seven  hundred,  and  that  of  the 
Americans  about  five  hundred. 

The  victory  was  claimed  by  both  parties,  but  the  ad- 
vantage was  certainly  on  the  side  of  the  Americans. 
Colonel  Stuart,  the  British  commander,  thought  it  pru- 
dent to  fall  back  to  the  vicinity  of  Charleston.  Greene  re- 
tired again  to  the  hills  of  Santee  to  refresh  his  men,  who  were 
wretchedly  off  for  necessaries,  being  barefooted  and  half- 
clad,  out  of  hospital  stores,  and  nearly  out  of  ammunition. 

Greene's  military  talents  had  been  severely  tested 
during  this  campaign  ;  he  was  as  successful  in  attacking 
as  he  was  in  avoiding  his  enemies.  In  no  instance  was  he 
really  equal  to  them  in  force  and  equipments ;  but  he 
never  fought  a  battle  that  did  not  result  more  to  his  ad- 
vantage than  to  that  of  the  enemy.  Their  very  victories 
were  to  them  as  injurious  as  ordinary  defeats.  It  is  not  % 
strange  that  he  was  the  favorite  officer  of  the  Commander- 
in-chief. 


498  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xxxvii.        While  these  events  were  in  progress  in  the  South,  a  series 

of  important  operations  were  also  in  train  in  the  North. 

1781.  inhere  were  two  objects,  one  of  which  might  be  attained  : 
New  York  might  be  taken,  as  its  garrison  had  been  much 
weakened  by  sending  detachments  to  the  South;  or  Corn- 
wallis  might  be  captured  in  Virginia.  But  neither  of 
these  could  be  accomplished  without  the  aid  of  a  French 
army  as  well  as  fleet.  While  the  matter  was  under  con- 
sideration, a  frigate  arrived  from  France  bringing  the 
Count  De  Barras,  who  was  to  command  the  French  fleet 

ay'  at  Newport,  and  also  the  cheering  news  that  twenty  ships 
of  the  line,  under  the  Count  de  Grasse,  with  land  forces  on 
board,  were  shortly  to  sail  for  the  West  Indies,  and  that 
a  portion  of  this  fleet  and  forces  might  be  expected  on 
the  coast  of  the  United  States  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months.  Washington  and  the  Count  de  Kochambeau  had 
an  interview  at  Weathersfield,  Connecticut,  to  devise  a 
plan  of  operations.  They  determined  to  make  an  attack 
upon  New  York.  The  French  army  was  soon  to  be 
put  in  motion  to  form  a  junction  with  the  American  on 
the  Hudson,  and  a  frigate  was  despatched  to  inform  the 
Count  de  Grasse  of  the  plan,  and  to  invite  his  coopera 
tion. 

Clinton,  suspecting  the  designs  against  New  York,  be- 
came alarmed,  and  ordered  Cornwallis,  who  was  at  Wil- 
liamsburg,  Virginia,  to  send  him  a  reinforcement  of  troops. 
To  comply  with  this  order,  the  latter  marched  toward  Ports- 
mouth. Lafayette  and  Steuben  cautiously  followed.  Their 
men  numbered  about  four  thousand  ;  the  army  of  Corn- 
wallis was  much  more  numerous  and  better  appointed. 
Lafayette  intended  to  attack  the  rear-guard  of  the  British 

6.  when  the  main  body  had  passed  James  Kiver.  Cornwallis 
suspected  the  design,  and  laid  his  plans  to  entrap  the 
Marquis.  He  sent  over  a  portion  of  his  troops  with  the 
pack-horses,  and  so  arranged  them  as  to  make  a  great  dis- 
play ;  then  threw  in  the  way  of  the  Americans  a  negro 


r«v 


DARING    ATTACK    BY    WAYNE.  499 

and  a  dragoon,  who  pretended  to%e  deserters,  and  they 
announced  that  the  main  body  of  the  British  army  had 
passed  the  river.  Lafayette  immediately  detached  Wayne 
with  a  body  of  riflemen  and  dragoons  to  commence 
the  attack,  while  he  himself  should  advance  to  his  sup- 
port. 

Wayne  moved  forward,  forced  a  picket,  which  de- 
signedly gave  way,  but  presently  he  found  himself  close 
upon  the  main  body  of  the  enemy.  In  a  moment  he  saw 
that  he  had  been  deceived.  Wayne's  daring  nature  de- 
cided his  course  :  he  at  once  ordered  a  charge  to  be 
sounded  ;  his  men,  horse  and  foot,  caught  his  spirit,  and 
with  shouts,  as  if  sure  of  victory,  they  dashed  against  the 
enemy  with  great  impetuosity,  gallantly  continued  the 
fight  for  a  short  time,  and  then  as  rapidly  retreated.  The 
ruse  succeeded  admirably.  Cornwallis,  astounded  at  the 
boldness  and  vigor  of  the  attack,  hesitated  to  pursue, 
thinking  the  movement  was  designed  to  lead  him  into  an 
ambuscade.  This  delay  enabled  Lafayette  to  extricate 
himself  from  his  dangerous  position. 

Cornwallis  now  crossed  the  river,  but  while  the  detach- 
ment designed  for  New  York  was  embarking,  a  second  com- 
munication was  received  from  Clinton.  He  now  announced 
the  arrival  of  reinforcements  of  Hessians  from  Europe,  and 
also  directed  Cornwallis  to  retain  all  his  force,  and  choose 
some  central  position  in  Virginia,  and  there  fortify  himself. 
In  accordance  with  this  command,  the  latter  chose  the 
towns  of  Gloucester  and  Yorktown,  situated  opposite  each 
other  on  York  Kiver.  Here,  with  an  army  of  eight  thou- 
sand effective  men,  he  threw  up  strong  intrenchments, 
and  also  moored  in  the  harbor  a  number  of  frigates  and 
other  vessels  of  war. 

aN»#P 

The  financial  affairs  of  the  country  continued  in  a  de- 
plorable condition.  Congress  hoped  to  remedy  the  evil  by 


* 


* 


500  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xxxvii  aPP°intmg  a  single  sd|erintendent  of  finance,  instead  of 

. the  committee  to  whom  it  had  hitherto  been  intrusted. 

1781.  Kobert  Morris,  an  eminent  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  one 
of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  received 
the  appointment.  He  accepted  the  office  only  on  the  ex- 
press condition,  that  all  transactions  should  be  in  specie 
value.  The  results  vindicated  the  wisdom  of  the  choice  ;  the 
genius  in  furnishing  the  "  sinews  of  war  "  was  as  efficient 
as  that  displayed  by  others  in  the  field.  At  his  instance 
Congress  established  the  Bank  of  North  America,  with  a 
capital  of  two  millions  of  dollars,  and  to  continue  in  force 
for  ten  years.  The  bank  was  pledged  to  redeem  its  notes 
in  specie  on  presentation.  This  feature  of  the  institution 
at  once  secured  the  confidence  of  the  public,  and  the 
wealthy  invested  in  it  their  funds.  Operating  by  means 
of  the  bank,  Morris  raised  the  credit  of  Congress  higher 
than  it  ever  stood  before  ;  and  he  was  also  enabled,  in  a 
great  measure,  to  furnish  supplies  for  the  army  and  pay 
for  the  soldiers.  Whenever  public  means  failed  he  pledged 
his  own  credit. 

Washington,  on  his  return  from  the  interview  with 
Eochambeau,  addressed  letters  to  the  authorities  of  New 
Jersey  and  New  England,  urging  them  in  this  emergency 
to  furnish  provisions  and  their  quotas  of  men.  But  they 
were  dilatory  and  unable  to  comply,  and  he  had  but  five 
thousand  effective  men  at  Peekskill,  and  they  would  have 
been  destitute  of  provisions,  had  it  not  been  for  the  energy 
of  Morris. 

The  French  army  had  remained  inactive  eleven  months 
at  Newport ;  it  now  moved  to  join  Washington  in  the 
Highlands.  Information  was  received  from  the  Count  de 
Grasse  that  he  would  shortly  sail  with  a  large  fleet  for  the 
United  States.  Washington  and  Kochambeau  hastened 
their  preparations  to  cooperate  with  him  upon  his  arrival 
in  the  proposed  attack  on  New  York.  An  intercepted 
letter  gave  Clinton  the  knowledge  of  these  movements,  and 


CLINTON    DECEIVED.  -  THE   AKMY   ON    THE    MARCH.  501 

he  was  soon  on  the  alert  to  defencrthe  city.     The  British    CHAP. 
posts  on  Manhattan  Island  were  reconnoitred  by  the  Amer-  _  ' 
ieans,  the  combined  armies  were  encamped  at  Dobbs'  Ferry   1781. 
and  on  the  Greenburg  hills,  waiting  for  reinforcements  and 
the  Count  de  Grasse.     Presently  came  a  frigate  from  the 
Count  to  Newport  with  the  intelligence  that  he  intended    Aug. 
to  sail  for  the  Chesapeake.     This  information  disconcerted 
all  their  plans  ;  now  they  must  direct  their  forces  against 
Cornwallis.     To  accomplish  this  effectively  Clinton  must 
be  deceived  and  Cornwallis  kept  in  ignorance.     To  "  mis- 
guide and  bewilder"  Sir  Henry,  a  space  for  a  large  en- 
campment was  marked  out  in  New  Jersey,  near  Staten 
Island  ;  boats  were  collected  ;  ovens  were  built  as  if  pre- 
paring for  the  sustenance  of  a  large  army  ;  pioneers  were 
sent  to  clear  roads  toward  King's  Bridge,  and  pains  were 
taken  to  keep  the  American  soldiers  ignorant  of  their  own 
destination. 

General  Lincoln  was  sent  with  the  first  division  of  the 
army  across  the  Jerseys  ;  he  was  followed  by  the  French. 
Wagons  were  in  company  to  carry  the  packs  of  the  soldiers, 
to  enable  them  to  move  with  more  rapidity.  Washington 
sent  orders  to  Lafayette,  who  was  yet  in  Virginia,  to  take 
a  position  to  prevent  Cornwallis  retreating  to  North  Caro- 
lina ;  to  retain  Wayne  with  his  Pennsylvanians,  and  to 
communicate  with  General  Greene.  He  also  wrote  to  the 
Count  de  Grasse,  who  would  soon  be  in  the  Chesapeake. 

Thus  were  the  plans  skilfully  laid  by  which  the  con-  * 
test  was  brought  to  a  happy  issue.  When  the  Northern 
soldiers  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  and  found 
that  they  were  really  going  against  Cornwallis,  they  mani- 
fested some  discontent  in  prospect  of  the  long  southern 
march  in  the  month  of  August.  At  this  critical  moment, 
John  Laurens,  son  of  Henry  Laurens,  President  of  Con- 
gress, arrived  from  France,  whither  he  had  been  sent  to 
obtain  aid  ;  he  brought  with  him  a  large  supply  of  clothing, 
ammunition,  and  arms  ;  and  what  was  just  then  very 


502  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,    much  wanted,  half  a  nmlion  of  dollars.     By  means  of  this, 

and  with  the  aid  of  Morris,  the  soldiers  received  a  portion 

1781.    of  their  pay  in  cash.    Their  good  humor  was  restored,  and 
they  cheerfully  marched  on. 

De  Barras,  who  commanded  the  French  fleet  at  New- 
Atig.  port,  suddenly  put  to  sea.  Clinton  at  once  divined  the 
object  was  to  unite,  in  the  Chesapeake,  with  another 
French  fleet  from  the  West  Indies  ;  and  he  sent  Admiral 
Graves  to  prevent  the  junction.  The  admiral  was  aston- 
ished to  find  De  Grasse,  with  twenty-five  sail  of  the  line, 
anchored  within  the  Capes.  De  Grasse  ran  out  to  sea,  as 
if  to  give  the  British  battle,  but  really  to  divert  their  at- 
Sept.  tention  until  De  Barras  could  enter  the  Bay.  For  five 
days  the  hostile  fleets  manoeuvred  and  skirmished.  Mean- 
while De  Barras  appeared  and  passed  within  the  Capes, 
and  immediately  De  Grasse  followed.  Graves  now  re- 
turned to  New  York. 

Until  the  main  body  of  the  combined  armies  was  be- 
yond the  Delaware,  Clinton  supposed  the  movement  was  a 
Sept.    ruse  to  draw  him  out  to  fight  in  the  open  fields.     Corn- 
wallis  himself  was  as  much  deceived  ;  thinking  he  would 
have  Lafayette  only  to  contend  with,  he  wrote  to  Clinton 
that  he  could  spare  him  twelve  hundred  men  to  aid  in  de- 
fending New  York.     Not  until  he  was  fairly  in  the  toils, 
when  the  French  fleet  had  anchored  within  the  Capes,  did 
»  he  apprehend  his  danger. 

Thinking  that  perhaps  a  portion  of  the  American  army 
might  be  sent  back  to  defend  New  England,  Clinton  sent 
Arnold  with  a  force,  composed  principally  of  Tories  and 
Hessians,  on  a  marauding  expedition  into  Connecticut. 
But  Washington  was  not  to  be  diverted  from  his  high  pur- 
pose. While  he  and  De  Kochambeau  are  pushing  on  to- 
ward the  head  of  the  Chesapeake,  let  us  turn  aside  to 
to  speak  of  this  maraud,  which  closes  the  career  of  the 
traitor  in  his  own  country. 

4k  * 


t 

NEW  LONDON  BUKNED  BY  AKNOLD.  503 

New  London  was  the  first  to  be  plundered  and  burned,  xxxvi 

and  there  Arnold  destroyed  an  immense  amount  of  prop-  

erty.  Fort  Griswold,  commanded  by  Colonel  William  1781. 
Ledyard — brother  of  the  celebrated  traveller — was  situated 
on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  river.  This  was  assaulted, 
and  after  an  obstinate  resistance,  in  which  the  British  lost 
two  hundred  men  and  their  two  highest  officers,  it  was 
carried.  When  the  enemy  entered,  the  Americans  laid 
down  their  arms,  but  the  massacre  continued.  Major 
Bromfield,  a  New  Jersey  tory,  by  the  death  of  the  two 
higher  officers,  became  the  leader  of  the  assailants.  Tra- 
dition tells  that  when  he  entered  the  fort  he  inquired  who 
commanded,  and  that  Colonel  Ledyard  came  forward,  say- 
ing, "  I  did,  sir ;  but  you  do  now  ; "  at  the  same  time  Sept. 
handing  him  his  sword  :  that  Bromfield  took  the  sword 
and  plunged  it  into  Ledyard's  breast.  This  was  the  sig-* 
nal  for  indiscriminate  slaughter,  and  more  than  sixty  of 
the  yeomanry  of  Connecticut  were  massacred  in  cold  blood. 
The  militia  began  to  collect  in  great  numbers  from  the 
neighboring  towns.  Arnold  dared  not  meet  his  enraged 
countrymen,  and  he  hastily  re-embarked.  These  outrages 
were  committed  almost  in  sight  of  his  birthplace.  Thus 
closed  "  a  career  of  ambition  without  virtue,  of  glory  ter- 
minated with  crime,  and  of  depravity  ending  in  infamy 
and  ruin." 

The  combined  armies  arrived  at  Elkton,  where  they    g    . 
found  transports  sent  by  Lafayette  and  De  Grasse  to  con-     27. 
vey  them  to  the  scene  of  action.     Previously  De  Grasse 
had  landed  three  thousand  troops  under  the  marquis  St. 
Simon,  to  unite  with  the  forces  under  Lafayette,  Steuben, 
and  Wayne. 

As  had  been  anticipated,  Cornwallis  endeavored  to 
force  his  way  to  the  Carolinas,  but  the  youthful  marquis, 
whom  some  months  before  he  had  characterized  as  a  "  boy," 
was  on  the  alert.  He  then  sent  off  expresses  with  urgent 


. 

504  HISTORY   OF*THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xxxvii    aPPea-^s  *°  Clinton  to  send  him  aid.     In  the  mean  time  he 

was  indefatigable  in  strengthening  his  fortifications. 

1781.  The  combined  forces,  French  and  American,  were 
about  twelve  thousand,  besides  the  Virginia  militia  called 
out  by  Governor  Nelson,  who,  as  the  State  treasury  was 
empty,  pledged  his  own  property  as  security  to  obtain  a 
loan  of  money  to  defray  the  expenses.  The  Governor 
was  a  resident  of  Yorktown,  and  when  the  cannonade 
was  about  to  commence,  he  was  asked  where  the  attack 
would  be  most  effective  :  "He  pointed  to  a  large,  hand- 
some house  on  a  rising  ground  as  the  probable  head-quar- 
ters of  the  enemy.  It  proved  to  be  his  own/' 

The  plan  of  operations  were  speedily  arranged,  and  the 
allies  began  to  press  the  siege  with  great  vigor.  Their 
%nes  were  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the  enemy's  works, 
which  they  completely  surrounded.  General  Washington 
himself  put  the  match  to  the  first  gun.  The  heavy  ord- 
nance brought  by  De  Barras  was  soon  thundering  at  the 
fortifications.  The  British  outworks  were  very  strong, 
and  beyond  these  were  thrown  up  redoubts  to  hinder  the 
approach  of  the  assailants.  The  cannonade  continued  for 
four  days  ;  the  enemy's  outworks  were  greatly  damaged 
and  guns  dismounted,  while  a  forty-four  gun  ship  and 
other  vessels  were  burned  by  means  of  red-hot  shot  thrown 
by  the  French.  Cornwallis  withdrew  his  men  from  the 
outworks,  but  the  redoubts  remained.  Two  of  these  were 
to  be  stormed  ;  one  assigned  to  the  French,  the  other  to 
Oct.  the  Americans.  The  assault  was  made  about  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  The  Americans,  under  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton, were  the  first  to  enter ;  they  scrambled  over  the 
parapet  without  regard  to  order,  and  carried  the  redoubt 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  The  French  captured  theirs, 
but  according  to  rule,  and  they  suffered  more  than  the 
Americans  in  their  headlong  attack.  The  emulation  ex- 
hibited by  both  parties  was  generous  and  noble.  From 


SURRENDER   OF    CORNWALLIS.  505 


these  captitred  redoubts  a  hundred  heavy  cannon  poured 
in  an  incessant  storm  of  balls.  Cornwallis,  as  he  saw  his 
works  one  by  one  crumbling  to  pieces,  his  guns  disabled,  1781. 
his  ammunition  failing,  determined  to  make  a  desperate 
sally  and.  check  the  besiegers.  The  British  soldiers,  a 
little  before  daybreak,  suddenly  rushed  out,  and  carried 
two  batteries,  but  scarcely  had  they  obtained  possession 
of  them,  before  the  French  in  turn  furiously  charged,  and 
drove  them  back  to  their  own  intrenchments.  But  one 
avenue  of  escape  was  left  ;  —  they  must  cross  the  river  to  Oct. 
Gloucester,  cut  a  way  through  the  opposing  force,  and  by 
forced  marches  reach  New  York.  Cornwallis  resolved  to 
abandon  his  sick  and  wounded  and  baggage,  and  make  the 
desperate  attempt.  Boats  were  collected,  and  in  the  night 
a  portion  of  the  troops  crossed  over  ;  the  second  division 
was  embarking,  when  suddenly  the  sky  was  overcast,  and 
a  storm  of  wind  and  rain  arrested  the  movement.  It  was 
now  daylight.  The  first  division  with  difficulty  recrossed 
to  Yorktown,  as  on  the  river  they  were  subjected  to  the 
fire  of  the  American  batteries.  Despairing  of  assistance 
from  Clinton,  and  unwilling  to  risk  the  effect  of  an  assault 
upon  his  shattered  works,  or  to  wantonly  throw  away  the 
lives  of  his  soldiers,  he  sent  to  Washington  an  offer  to  sur- 
render. The  terms  were  arranged,  and  on  the  19th  of 
October,  in  the  presence  of  thousands  of  patriots  assembled 
from  the  neighboring  country,  Cornwallis  surrendered  seven 
thousand  men  as  prisoners  of  war  to  Washington,  as  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  combined  army,  and  the  shipping, 
seamen,  and  naval  stores  to  the  Count  de  Grasse. 

At  Charleston,  when  Lincoln  capitulated,  the  Ameri- 
cans were  not  permitted  to  march  out  with  their  colors  fly- 
ing, as  had  been  granted  to  Burgoyne,  but  with  their  colors 
cased.  It  was  thought  proper  to  deny  them  the  courtesy 
granted  at  Saratoga,  and  the  British  soldiers  were  directed 
to  march  out  with  their  colors  cased  ;  and  Lincoln  was 
deputed  by  Washington  to  receive  the  sword  of  Cornwallis. 

'     •       *         .  **'  ' 


506  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

xxxvn  Washington  sent  one  of  his  aids  to  carry  the  joyful 

news  to  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia.  He  reached  the 

1T81.  city  at  midnight.  Soon  the  old  State-house  bell,  that 
five  years  before  signalized  to  the  people  that  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  made,  now  awoke  the  slumbering 
city  to  hear  the  watchmen  cry,  "  Cornwallis  is  taken  ! 
Cornwallis  is  taken ! "  The  inhabitants  by  thousands 
rushed  into  the  streets  to  congratulate  each  other.  Con- 
gress met  the  next  morning  and  proceeded  in  a  body  to  a 
church,  and  there  publicly  offered  thanks  to  Almighty  God 
for  the  special  favor  He  had  manifested  to  their  struggling 
country,  then  issued  a  proclamation  appointing  a  day  for 
national  thanksgiving  and  prayer,  "  in  acknowledgment  of 
the  signal  interposition  of  Divine  Providence."  Through- 
out  the  whole  land  arose  the  voice  of  thanksgiving  from 
the  families  of  the  patriots,  from  the  pulpits,  from  the 
army.  Never  did  a  nation  rejoice  more.  The  clouds  of 
uncertainty  and  doubt  were  dispelled  ;  the  patriots  were 
exultant  in  the  prospect  of  peace  and  of  the  established 
freedom  of  their  country.  Their  intelligence  enabled  them 
to  appreciate  the  blessings  for  which  they  had  so  long 
struggled. 

If  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  or  the  evacuation  of  Bos- 
ton, had  led  to  a  reconciliation  with  the  mother  country, 
how  different  had  been  their  feelings.  Then  an  affection, 
a  reverence  for  England  would  have  lingered,  only  to  re- 
tard the  progress  of  the  Colonists — at  best  but  half-forgiven 
rebels — and  hold  them  subordinate  to  her,  not  so  much  in 
political  dependence  as  formerly,  but  sufficient  to  stifle  that 
sentiment  of  nationality,  so  essential  to  the  proper  develop- 
ment of  their  character  and  of  the  resources  of  the  country. 

We  have  seen  how  long  it  took  illiberal  laws,  en- 
forced in  a  tyrannical  manner,  to  alienate  their  affections. 
It  now  required  a  seven  years'  struggle  of  war,  outrage 
and  suffering,  dangers  and  privations,  to  induce  a  pervad- 
ing national  sentiment,  rouse  the  energies  of  the  people^ 


THE  CONTINENTAL  SOLDIERS.  507 

give  them  confidence,  and  lead  them  to  sympathize  with    CHAP. 

°  X.XXVII. 

each  other.  

Congress  voted  thanks  to  Washington,  to  the  Counts  1781. 
De  Eochambeau  and  De  Grasse,  and  to  the  army  gener- 
ally. Eulogies  were  showered  upon  the  Commander-in- 
chief  ; — the  spontaneous  outpourings  of  a  grateful  people, 
who,  during  the  darkest  hours  of  the  contest,  had  in  him 
unbounded  confidence. 

Yorktown  was  now  a  name  to  be  honored  even  beyond 
those  of  Bunker  Hill  and  Saratoga.  How  much  was  involved 
in  that  surrender  !  The  long  struggle  was  virtually  ended. 
It  had  been  a  contest  not  for  power,  not  for  aggrandize- 
ment, but  for  a  great  truth  and  principle,  which  had  been 
overshadowed  by  authority  and  pressed  down  by  arbitrary, 
rule.  Said  Lafayette  to  Napoleon,  when  he  sneered  at 
the  smallness  of  the  armies  engaged  in  the  American 
Eevolution  :  "  It  was  the  grandest  of  causes,  won  by  the 
skirmishes  of  sentinels  and  outposts."  It  is  true  that  the 
number  who  fell  on  the  battle-fields  was  comparatively 
small.  The  names  of  but  few  of  these  have  come  down  to 
us  ;  they  were  written  only  on  the  hearts  of  friends  and 
relatives  who-  mourned  their  loss.  Scarcely  was  there  a 
family  but  had  a  precious  record  ;  the  cherished  memory 
of  some  one  who  had  thus  sacrificed  his  life. 

NOTE. — The  number  of  soldiers  furnished  by  each  State  to  the  Con- 
tinental army,  during  the  war,  may  be  seen  by  the  following  table : 


Massachusetts,     .  .        .     67,907 

Connecticut,     .  .         .         31,939 
Virginia,      ....     26,678 

Pennsylvania,  .         .         25,678 

New  York,           .  .         .     17,781 

Maryland,        .  .         .         13,912 

New  Hampshire,  .         .     12,497 

New  Jersey,     .  .        .         10,726 


North  Carolina,     .    ...  7,2.63 

South  Carolina,          .        .  6,417 

Rhode  Island,         .'      .    "    .  5,908 

Georgia,    .         .-'      -.  '     .  2,679 

Delaware,     .     "-•...*     .:.  2,386 

231,791 


CHAPTEE    XXXVIII. 

^r 

CLOSING  EVENTS    OF     THE   WAR— FORMATION   OF   THE    CONSTI- 
TUTION. 

British  Efforts  Paralyzed. — The  States  form  Independent  Governments. — 
Indian  Wars. — Massacre  of  the  Christian  Delawares. — Battle  of  the  Blue 
Lick.— Carleton  supersedes  Clinton. — Commissioners  of  Peace. — The 
common  Distress. — Dissatisfaction  in  the  Army. — The  "Anonymous 
Address." — Peace  concluded. — British  Prisoners ;  the  Tories. — Disband- 
ment  of  the  American  Army. — Washington  takes  leave  of  his  Officers. 
— Resigns  his  Commission. — Shay's  Rebellion. — Interests  of  the  States 
clash. — The  Constitutional  Convention. — The  Constitution  ratified  by 
the  States.— The  Territory  North-west  of  the  Ohio.— Ecclesiastical  Or- 
ganizations. 

QN  the  very  day  that  Cornwallis  surrendered,  Clinton 
sailed  to  his  aid  with  seven  thousand  men.  When  off  the 
1781.  entrance  to  the  Chesapeake,  he  learned,  to  his  astonish- 
ment, that  all  was  lost.  As  the  British  fleet  was  much 
inferior  to  that  of  the  French,  he  hastily  returned  to  New 
York. 

4  Washington  requested  Count  de  Grasse  to  cooperate 
with  General  Greene  in  an  attack  upon  Charleston,  but 
De  Grasse  pleaded  the  necessity  of  his  presence  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  excused  himself.  The  Americans  now 
returned  to  their  old  quarters  on  the  Hudson.  The  French 
army  wintered  at  Williamsburg  in  Virginia,  while  the 
British  prisoners  were  marched  to  Winchester. 

The  capture  of  Cornwallis  paralyzed  the  efforts  of  the 


( 


THE    STATE   GOVERNMENTS — BORDER  WARFARE.  509 

British  and  Tories.  In  the  South  they  evacuated  all  the 
posts  in  their  possession,  except  Savannah  and  Charleston ; 
before  the  latter  place  Greene  soon  appeared,  and  disposed  1V81. 
his  forces  so  as  to  confine  them  closely  to  the  town.  In 
the  North,  the  only  place  held  by  the  enemy  was  New 
York. 

Washington  never  for  a  moment  relaxed  his  watchful- 
ness, but  urged  upon  Congress  and  the  States  to  prepare 
for  a  vigorous  campaign  the  next  year.  But  so  impover- 
ished had  the  country  become,  that  to  raise  men  and  money 
seemed  almost  impossible,  while  the  prospect  of  peace 
furnished  excuses  for  delay. 

The  several  States  now  took  measures  to  form  inde- 
pendent governments,  or  to  strengthen  or  modify  those 
already  in  existence.  Some  of  these  had  been  hastily 
formed,  and,  consequently,  were  more  or  less  defective. 
The  custom  was  introduced  of  sending  delegates  to  con- 
ventions called  for  the  purpose  of  framing  constitutions, 
which  were  submitted  to  the  people  for  their  approval  or 
rejection.  The  common  law  of  England  was  adopted,  and 
made  the  basis  in  the  administration  of  justice  in  the 
courts. 

A  cruel  border  warfare  was  still  continued  by  incur- 
sions of  Indians  against  the  back  settlements  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Virginia,  and  against  the  frontiers  of  New  York, 
by  Indians  and  Tories. 

Many  of  the  Delaware  Indians,  under  the  influence  of 
Moravian  teachers,  had  become  Christian,  and  so  far  im- 
bibed the  principles  of  their  instructors  as  to  be  opposed 
to  war.  Some  of  these,  nearly  twenty  years  before,  had 
emigrated  from  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna  and  settled 
on  the  Muskingurn,  where  they  had  three  flourishing  vil- 
lages, surrounded  by  corn-fields.  The  hostile  Indians 
from  the  lakes,  in  their  incursions  against  the  frontiers 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  robbed  these  Delawares  of 


510  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

rrmn   *^e^r  Prov^s^ons-     The  Delawares  became  objects  of  sus- 

!  picion  to  both  the  hostile  Indians  and  the  whites.     The 

1781.  former  accused  them  of  revealing  their  plans,  the  latter  of 
conniving  at  the  incursions  of  their  enemies,  and  the  hostile 
Indians  compelled  them  to  emigrate  to  the  vicinity  of  San- 
dusky. 

In  the  mean  time,  murders  had  been  committed  by  the 
Shawanese  in  the  vicinity  of  Pittsburg.  A  company  of 
eighty  or  ninety  backwoodsmen  volunteered,  under  a  Colo- 
nel Williamson,  to  take  revenge  on  the  supposed  murderers 
— the  Christian  Delawares — a  portion  of  whom  had  re- 
turned to  their  old  home  to  gather  their  corn.  The  expe- 
dition reached  the  villages  on  the  Muskingum,  collected 
the  victims,  it  would  seem,  under  the  pretence  of  friend- 
ship, then  barbarously  and  in  cold  blood  murdered  about 
ninety  of  these  inoffensive  creatures, — men,  women,  and 


children. 

This  success  excited  to  other  invasions,  and  four  hun- 
^dred  and  eighty  men,  under  Colonels  Williamson  and 
Crawford,  marched  from  Western  Pennsylvania  to  surprise 
the  remnants  of  the  Christian  Indians  at  Sandusky,  and 
also  to  attack  the  village  of  the  hostile  Wyandottes.  The 
June  Indians  learned  of  their  approach,  waited  for  them  in  am- 

6.  bush,  and  defeated  them ;  took  many  prisoners,  among 
whom  were  Crawford,  his  son,  and  son-in-law.  These  three 
they  burned  at  the  stake. 

About  the  same  time,  a  large  body  of  the  Indians 
north  of  the  Ohio,  led  by  the  infamous  Simon  Girty,  a 
tory  refugee,  invaded  Kentucky.  They  were  met  by  the 
Kentuckians,  under  Colonels  Boone,  Todd,  and  Triggs,  at 
the  Big  Blue  Lick,  when  a  bloody  and  desperate  encounter 
ensued.  But  overwhelmed  by  numbers,  nearly  one-half 
the  Kentuckians  were  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners. 

After  the  capture  at  Yorktown  no  battle  occurred  be- 
tween the  main  armies,  and  but  one  or  two  skirmishes. 

ug*    In  one  of  these3  in  the  vicinity  of  Charleston,  the  younger 


PEOPLE  OF   ENGLAND    DESIRE    TO    CLOSE    THE   WAR.  511 

Laurens  was  slain — a  young  man  of  great  promise,  who    CHAP. 
was  universally  lamented.  

Among  the  English  people  at  large  the  desire  to  close  1782. 
the  war  had  greatly  increased.  With  them  it  had  ever 
been  unpopular  ;  they  were  unwilling  that  their  brethren 
beyond  the  Atlantic  should  be  deprived  of  the  rights  which 
they  themselves  so  much  valued.  The  intelligence  of  the  sur- 
render of  Cornwallis  created  among  them  stronger  opposi- 
tion than  ever  to  the  harsh. measures  of  the  Government. 
Yet  the  war  party — the  King  and  Ministry,  and  the  majority 
of  the  aristocracy — were  unwilling  to  yield  to  the  pressure 
of  public  opinion.  They  were  thunderstruck  at  this  unex- 
pected disaster.  Says  a  British  writer:  "Lord  North  re- 
ceived the  intelligence  of  the  capture  of  Cornwallis  as  he 
would  have  done  a  cannon-ball  in  his  breast ;  he  paced  the 
room,  and  throwing  his  arms  wildly  about,  kept  exclaiming, 
'  0  God !  it  is  all  over ;  it  is  all  over ! '  "  For  twelve  years  he 
had  been  prime  minister.  The  pliant  servant  of  the  King, 
he  had  ever  been  in  favor  of  prosecuting  the  war,  but  now% 
the  voice  of  the  English  people  compelled  him  to  resign. 

Sir  Guy  Carleton,  whom  we  have  seen  winning  the  re- 
spect of  the  Americans,  by  his  upright  and  honorable  con- 
duct when  Governor  of  Canada,  was  appointed  to  succeed 
Sir  Henry  Clinton.  In  the  following  May  he  arrived  at 
New  York,  empowered  to  make  propositions  for  peace.  He 
•*  immediately  addressed  a  letter  to  Washington,  proposing 
a  cessation  of  hostilities,  and  also  issued  orders,  in  which 
he  forbade  the  marauding  incursions  of  the  Indians  and 
Tories  on  the  frontiers  of  Western  New  York. 

Congress  appointed  five  commissioners  to  conclude  a 
treaty  with  Great  Britain.  These  were  :  John  Adams, 
Doctor  Franklin,  John  Jay,  Henry  Laurens,  who,  lately 
released  from  his  confinement  in  the  Tower,  was  yet  in 
London,  and  Thomas  Jefferson  ; — the  latter,  however,  de- 
clined to  serve.  They  met  at  Paris  two  British  Commis- 
sioners, who  had  been  authorized  to  treat  with  "certain 


HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES 

CHAP,    colonies"  named  in  their  instructions.      The  American 

AAAVill.  .      . 

Commissioners  refused  to  enter  upon  negotiations,  unless 

1V82.  in  the  name  of  the  "  United  States  of  America  ;  " — they 
claimed  the  right  to  be  recognized  a  power  among  the 
nations.  This  right  was  acknowledged  by  Britain,  and  on 
the  30th  of  November  the  parties  signed  a  preliminary 
treaty,  which  Congress  ratified  the  following  April.  Ne- 
gotiations continued,  and  the  final  treaty  was  signed  on 
1783.  the  3d  of  September  following.  France  and  England  in 
the  mean  time  likewise  concluded  a  treaty  of  peace.  The 
American  Commissioners  also  negotiated  treaties  of  com- 
merce with  Spain  and  Holland. 

Though  the  war  was  ended,  the  American  people  had 
numberless  difficulties  with  which  to  contend.  The  army, 
that  through  the  many  trials  of  the  contest  had  remained 
faithful,  was  in  a  deplorable  condition.  The  half-pay  for 
life,  which,  three  years  before,  Congress  had  promised  to 
the  officers,  proved  to  be  only  a  promise.  Washington 
wrote  confidentially  to  the  Secretary  of  War  in  behalf  of 
those  about  to  be  discharged  from  the  service  :  "  I  cannot 
help  fearing  the  result,  when  I  see  such  a  number  of  men 
about  to  be  turned  on  the  world,  soured  by  penury,  in- 
volved in  debts,  without  one  farthing  to  carry  them  home, 
after  having  spent  the  flower  of  their  days,  and  many  of 
them  their  patrimonies,  in  establishing  the  freedom  and 
independence  of  their  country,  and  having  suffered  every 
thing  which  human  nature  is  capable  of  enduring  on  this 
side  of  death.  You  may  rely  upon  it,  the  patience  and  long 
sufferance  of  this  army  are  almost  exhausted,  and  there 
never  was  so  great  a  spirit  of  discontent  as  at  this  instant." 
Mar.  At  this  crisis  an  address,  plausibly  written,  was  privately 
circulated  in  the  camp.  It  suggested  to  the  officers  and 
men  the  propriety  of  taking  upon  themselves  to  redress 
their  grievances  ;  that  they  should  intimidate  Congress 
and  compel  it  to  pay  their  just  demands. 


THE   ANONYMOUS   ADDRESSES.  513 

The  address  seems  to  have  been  the  embodied  senti-    CHAP. 

XXXVTTT 

ments  of  some  half  dozen  officers,  although  written  by  ' 

Captain  Armstrong,  the  son  of  General  Armstrong  of  1V83. 
Pennsylvania.  A  call  was  issued  for  a  meeting  of  the 
officers,  but  the  next  morning,  in  the  regular  orders  for  the 
day,  Washington  took  occasion  to  disapprove  of  the  meet- 
ing as  a  violation  of  discipline.  He  also  named  a  day  for 
the  officers  to  assemble  and  hear  the  report  of  a  committee 
of  their  number  who  had  been  sent  to  lay  their  demands 
before  Congress.  The  next  day  a  second  anonymous  ad- 
dress was  issued,  but  somewhat  more  moderate  in  tone 
than  the  first.  The  officers  met  according  to  appoint- 
ment, and  Gates,  being  second  in  command,  was  made 
chairman  of  the  meeting.  Washington  presently  came  in, 
made  them  a  soothing  address,  appealed  to  their  patriotism 
and  to  their  own  fair  fame  in  toiling  for  their  country,  and 
now  were  they  willing  to  tarnish  their  name  or  distrust 
their  country's  justice  ?  He  pledged  his  word  to  use  his 
influence  with  Congress  to  fulfil  its  promises.  He  then 
withdrew.  The  meeting  passed  resolutions  which  con- 
demned in  severe  terms  the  spirit  of  the  anonymous  ad- 
dress. 

Congress  soon  after  resolved  to  accede  to  the  proposi- 
tion of  the  officers,  and  change  the  promise  of  half  pay  for 
life,  to  that  of  full  pay  for  five  years.  And  also  to  advance 
to  the  soldiers  full  pay  for  four  months. 

This  was  not  the  only  instance  in  which  the  influence 
of  Washington  arrested  plots  designed  to  ruin  the  prospects 
of  the  young  republic.  The  condition  of  the  country  was 
so  desperate  that  many  feared  the  States  could  not  form  a 
permanent  government.  At  the  suggestion  of  officers 
who  thus  thought,  Lewis  Nicola,  a  foreigner,  a  colonel  in 
the  Pennsylvania  line,  wrote  Washington  ari  elaborate 
letter,  in  which  he  discussed  the  expediency  of  establish- 
ing a  monarchy,  and  finally  offered  him  the  crown.  Wash- 
ington indignantly  condemned  the  scheme.  Said  he  :  "I 
33 


514  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

XXlvFlL  cannot  conceive  what  I  have  done  during  my  whole  life, 

which  could  cause  any  one  to  imagine  that  I  could  enter- 

l^83-    tain  such  a  proposition  for  a  moment." 

When  these  facts  became  known,  it  was  not  strange 
that  the  people  feared  a  standing  army. 

Intelligence  came  at  length  of  the  signing  of  the  treaty 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  Congress 
issued  a  proclamation  giving  the  information  to  the  nation. 
April  On  the  19th  of  April,  precisely  eight  years  from  the  battle 
of  Lexington,  the  cessation  of  hostilities  was  proclaimed  in 
the  camp  at  Newburg. 

The  soldiers  of  Burgoyne  and  Cornwallis  were  yet  pris- 
oners, and  had  been  marched  to  New  York  in  order  to  be  sent 
home.  A  general  exchange  of  prisoners  now  took  place. 
The  prospects  of  the  Tories  were  dreary  indeed.  The  se- 
vere laws  enacted  against  them  were  still  in  force,  and  now 
several  thousand  of  them  had  assembled  at  New  York,  and 
were  compelled  to  leave  the  country.  The  majority  of 
them  were  wealthy.  During  the  war  many  of  them  had 
held  offices  in  the  British  service,  and  some  had  grown  rich 
as  merchants,  landowners,  and  sutlers  for  the  British  army  ; 
others,  the  unscrupulous,  by  privateering.  Those  who 
lived  in  the  North  emigrated  to  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia, 
while  those  of  the  South  went  chiefly  to  the  West  India 
Islands. 

*  A  clause  was  inserted  in  the  treaty  which  prohibited 
the  carrying  away  of  the  slaves,  large  numbers  of  whom 
had  fled  to  the  British  army  during  the  campaigns  in  the 
Carolinas  and  Virginia. 

Carleton  refused  to  comply  with  the  demand,  on  the 
ground  that  it  would  be  highly  dishonorable  to  deliver 
them  up  since  they  had  sought  protection  under  the  Brit- 
ish flag.  To  secure  their  safety,  he  sent  them  away  among 
the  very  first,  while  at  the  same  time  he  kept  an  accurate 


DISBANDMENT    OF    THE    ARMY.  515 


list  of  their  number,  leaving  to  future  negotiation  indem- 
nity  for  their  loss. 

These  negroes,  now  liberated,  were  first  taken  to  Nova    1T83. 
Scotia  ;  afterward,  a  large  number  of  them  emigrated  to 
Sierra   Leone  :    "  Their  descendants,   as  merchants  and 
traders,  now  constitute  the  wealthiest  and  most  intelligent 
population  of  that  African  colony." 

Before  the  disbandment  of  the  army,  Washington  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  the  Governors  of  the  several  States,    June. 
urging  them  to  guard  against  the  prejudices  of  one  part  of 
the  country  against  another  ;  to  encourage  union  among 
the  States,  and  to  make  provision  for  the  public  debt. 

On  the  3d  of  November  the  army  was  disbanded.  ^ov' 
These  patriot  soldiers  returned  to  their  homes,  to  mingle 
with  their  fellow-citizens,  and  enjoy  the  blessings  which 
their  valor  had  obtained  for  themselves  and  their  posterity. 
From  that  day  the  title  of  revolutionary  soldier  has  been  a 
title  of  honor. 

Before  the  officers  of  the  army  finally  separated,  they 
formed  a  society  known  as  the  Cincinnati  —  a  name  de- 
rived from  the  celebrated  farmer-patriot  of  Kome.  The 
association  was  to  be  perpetuated  chiefly  through  the 
eldest  male  descendants  of  the  original  members.  But  as 
this  feature,  in  the  eyes  of  many,  seemed  to  favor  an 
hereditary  aristocracy,  it  was  stricken  out  ;  still  the  so-  ¥ 
ciety  continued  to  be  to  some  parties  an  object  of  jealousy. 

As  soon  as  preparations  could  be  made,  the  British 
evacuated  the  few  places  occupied  by  their  troops  ;  New 
York  on  the  25th  of  November,  and  Charleston  in  the  fol-  Nov- 

25 

lowing  month.    General  Knox,  with  a  small  body  of  troops, 
and  accompanied  by  Governor  George  Clinton  arid  the 
State  officers,  entered  New  York  as  the  British  were  leaving. 
A  few  days  after,  the  officers  of  the  army  assembled  at 
a  public  house  to  bid  farewell  to  their  beloved  commander.    Dec. 
Presently  Washington  entered  ;    his   emotions   were   too      4* 
strong  to  be  concealed.     After  a  moment's  pause  he  said  : 


516  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP     "  With  a  heart  full  of  love  and  gratitude,  I  now  take  leave 

!  of  you  ;  I  most  devoutly  wish  that  your  latter  days  may 

1783.  be  as  prosperous  and  happy,  as  your  former  ones  have  been 
glorious  and  honorable/1  He  then  added  :  "  I  cannot 
come  to  each  of  you  to  take  my  leave,  but  shall  be  obliged 
if  each  of  you  will  come  and  take  my  hand."  General 
Knox,  being  the  nearest,  turned  to  him.  Washington, 
affected  even  to  tears,  grasped  his  hand  and  embraced  him. 
In  the  same  affectionate  manner  he  took  leave  of  each 
succeeding  officer  :  "  The  tear  of  manly  sensibility  was  in 
every  eye  ;  not  a  word  was  spoken  to  interrupt  the  digni- 
fied silence  and  the  tenderness  of  the  scene.  Leaving  the 
room,  he  passed  through  the  corps  of  light  infantry,  to  the 
barge  which  was  to  convey  him  across  the  river.  The 
whoj£  company  followed  in  mute  and  solemn  procession, 
with  dejected  countenances,  testifying  to  feelings  of  de- 
licious melancholy,  which  no  language  can  describe.  Hav- 
ing entered  the  barge,  he  turned  to  the  company,  and, 
waving  his  hat,  bade  them  a  silent  adieu.  They  paid  him 
the  same  affectionate  compliment/'  l 

On  his  way  to  Annapolis,  where  Congress  was  in 
session,  he  left  with  the  controller  at  Philadelphia  an  ac- 
curate account  of  his  expenses  during  the  war ;  they 
amounted  to  sixty-four  thousand  dollars.  These  accounts 
.  were  in  his  own  handwriting,  and  kept  in  the  most  perfect 
manner  ;  every  charge  made  was  accompanied  by  a  men- 
tion of  the  occasion  and  object. 

In  an  interview  with  Congress,  he  made  a  short  ad- 
dress.   Said  he  :  "  The  successful  termination  of  the  war 
has  verified  the  most   sanguine  expectations  ;    and   my 
-Dec     gratitude  for  the  interposition  of  Providence,  and  the  as- 
25.      sistance  I  have  received  from  my  countrymen,  increases 
with   every  review   of  the   momentous   contest/'     Then 
recommending  to  the  favorable  notice  of  Congress   the 

1  Judge  Marshall. 


WASHINGTON    RESIGNS   HIS   COMMISSION.  517 


officers  of  his  staff,  and  expressing  his  obligations  to  the 
army  in  general,  he  continued  :  "  I  consider  it  as  an  in-  -  ' 
dispensable  duty  to  close  this  last  act  of  my  official  life,  by    1783. 
commending  the  interests  of  our  dearest  country  to  the 
protection  of  Almighty  God,  and  those   who  have  the 
superintendence  of  them,  to  his  holy  keeping." 

"  Having  now  finished  the  work  assigned  me,  I  retire 
from  the  great  theatre  of  action,  and,  bidding  an  affection- 
ate farewell  to  this  august  body,  under  whose  orders  I 
have  so  long  acted,  I  here  offer  my  commission,  and  take 
my  leave  of  all  the  employments  of  public  life." 

The  President  of  Congress,  General  Mifflin,  who,  in 
the  darkest  hour  of  the  revolution,  had  favored  the  Con- 
way  Cabal,  replied  :  "  Sir,  the  United  States,  in  congress 
assembled,  receive  with  emotions  too  affecting  for  utter- 
ance, the  solemn  resignation  of  the  authorities  under  which 
you  have  led  their  troops  with  success  through  a  perilous 
and  doubtful  war.  We  join  with  you  in  commending  the 
interests  of  our  dearest  country  to  the  protection  of  Al- 
mighty God  ;  and  for  you,  we  address  to  Him  our  earnestf 
prayers,  that  a  life  so  beloved  may  be  fostered  with  all  * 
His  care  ;  that  your  days  may  be  as  happy  as  they  have 
been  illustrious  ;  and  that  he  will  finally  give  you  that 
reward  which  this  world  cannot  give."  Washington 
hastened  to  Mount  Vernon,  which  he  had  not  visited  for 
eight  years,  except  for  a  few  hours  while  on  his  way  against 
Cornwallis. 


Independence  was  at  last  attained,  but  at  immense  1784. 
sacrifices.  The  calamities  of  war  were  visible  in  the  ruins 
of  burned  towns,  in  the  ravaged  country,  in  the  prostration 
of  industry,  and  in  the  accumulation  of  debts.  These 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  seventy  millions  of  dollars  — 
a  sum  enormous  in  proportion  to  the  resources  of  the 
country  —  two-thirds  of  this  debt  had  been  contracted  by 
Congress,  and  the  remainder  by  the  individual  States. 


518  HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Exxym          These  were  evils,  but  there  were  still  greater  which 

came  home  to  the  domestic  hearth.     Frequently  the  mem- 

1784.  fors  of  families  had  taken  different  sides,  some  were  Whigs 
and  some  were  Tories  ;  and  that  remorseless  rancor  which 
so  often  prevails  in  times  of  civil  discord,  extended  through- 
out the  land.  It  is  pleasant  to  record,  that  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years,  a  forgiving  spirit  among  the  people  led  to 
the  repeal  of  the  severe  laws  enacted  against  the  Tories, 
and  very  great  numbers  of  them  repented  of  their  mis- 
guided loyalty  and  returned  to  their  native  land. 


On  the  conclusion  of  peace  the  English  merchants, 
alive  to  their  interests,  flooded  the  States  with  manufac- 
tured goods  at  very  reduced  prices.  This  operation  ruined 
the  domestic  manufactures,  which  the  non-importation 
association,  and  necessities  of  the  war  had  created  and 
cherished,  drained  the  country  of  its  specie,  and  involved 
the  merchants  and  people  in  debt.  This  poverty  was  fol- 
lowed by  discontent,  which  prevailed  more  or  less,  and 
excited  disturbances  in  several  of  the  States. 
1786.  In  Massachusetts  a  thousand  men  assembled  at  Wor- 
25/  cester,  under  the  leadership  of  Daniel  Shays,  and  forced 
the  Supreme  Court  to  adjourn,  to  prevent  its  issuing  writs 
for  the  collection  of  debts. 

Governor  Bowdoin  called  out  the  militia,  which  was 
put  under  the  command  of  General  Lincoln,  who  in  a  few 
1787    weeks  suppressed  the  outbreak.     It  was  evident,  however, 
Jan.    that  there  was  among  the  people  a  strong  feeling  of  sym- 
pathy with  the  insurgents,  for  the  vast  majority  of  them- 
selves labored  under  similar  grievances. 

This  distress  was  overruled  for  good.  It  was  the 
means  of  bringing  all  the  States  to  view  with  favor  a  union 
under  the  same  constitution,  and  thus  form  a  government 
which  should  have  power  to  act  for  the  good  of  the  whole 
country. 

The  States  made  trial  of  independent  governments, 


'  :    t    • 
CLASHING   INTERESTS — RIVAL   PORTS. 

but  after  an  experiment  of  three  or  four  years  the  result 
proved  unsatisfactory.  This  was  especially  the  case  in  re- 
lation to  the  subjects  of  legislation  which  concerned  the  1787. 
whole  country  ;  such  as  the  regulation  of  commerce,  the 
common  defence,  the  adjustment  of  controversies  between 
one  State  and  another,  and  making  of  treaties  with  other 
nations. 

These  difficulties  were  increasing — many  interests 
clashed.  Some  of  the  States  passed  laws  which  con- 
flicted with  those  of  their  sisters  ;  ^gince  «the  close  of  the 
war,  commerce  had  increased  very  rapidly,  but  American 
merchants  were  still  excluded  by  the  British  from  the 
West  India  trade.  They  complained  to  Congress,  but 
the  States  had  not  yet  conceded  authority  to  that  body, 
to  regulate  commerce  or  to  legislate  for  the  whole  country. 

Some  States  had  good  harbors,  and  imported  merchan- 
dise upon  which  duties  were  imposed  at  the  expense  of 
their  neighbors  ;  and  ports  competed  with  each  other  by 
lowering  the  rate  of  imports.  Thus  there  were  rival  ports 
on  the  Delaware  ;  and  Maryland  and  Virginia  competed 
with  each  other  for  the  trade  of  the  Chesapeake,  while 
New  Jersey  and  Connecticut  were  laid  under  contribution 
by  their  neighbors  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts.  No 
State  could  protect  itself  by  retaliation  against  the  restric- 
tions of  foreign  countries,  as  the  attempt  would  throw  its 
own  trade  into  the  hands  of  a  sister  rival. 

Efforts  were  made  to  obviate  these  evils,  and  those 
States  bordering  on  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  and 
Potomac  sent  delegates  to  a  convention  held  at  Alexan- 
dria, to  establish  a  uniform  tariff  of  duties  on  the  mer- 
chandise brought  into  their  ports.  This  led  to  corre- 
spondence between  the  prominent  men  of  the  country  and 
the  legislatures.  Another  convention  was  held  at  An- 
napolis, to  which  there  were  representatives  from  only  five 
States ;  finally,  the  people  elected  delegates  to  meet  in 


520  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP-    Convention  in  Philadelphia,  to  revise  the  Articles  of  Con- 

AAAV1LL. 

federation. 

1787.  On  the  14th  of  May,  the  members  of  the  Convention 
met  in  the  State  House,  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  same  hall 
where  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  made.  Wash- 
ington, who,  since  the  war,  had  lived  in  retirement  at 
Mount  Vernon,  appeared  as  a  delegate.  He  was  unani- 
mously chosen  President  of  the  Convention. 

The  Convention  resolved  to  sit  with  closed  doors  ;  not 
even  a  transcript  of  their  minutes  was  permitted  to  be 
made  public.  The  articles  of  the  old  confederation,  found 
to  be  very  defective,  were  thrown  aside,  and  the  Conven- 
tion addressed  itself  to  framing  an  independent  con- 
stitution. 

There  were  present  about  fifty  delegates,  representa- 
tives from  eleven  different  States,  all  of  whom  had  the 
confidence  of  their  fellow-citizens,  and  were  distinguished 
for  their  intellectual  and  moral  worth  and  experience  in. 
public  affairs.  Some  had  been  members  of  the  Stamp 
Act  Congress  in  1765,  some  of  the  Continental  Congress 
in  1774,  and  some  were  also  among  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Conspicuous  was  the 
venerable  Dr.  Franklin,  now  in  his  eightieth  year,  who, 
thirty  years  before,  at  a  convention  at  Albany,  had  pro- 
posed a  plan  of  union  for  the  colonies. 

The  various  disturbances  in  different  parts  of  the  land 
had  shaken  the  faith  of  many  in  the  power  of  the  mul- 
titude to  govern  themselves.  Said  Elbridge  G-erry,  in  the 
Convention  :  "  All  the  evils  we  experience  flow  from  an 
excess  of  democracy.  The  people  do  not  want  virtue,  but 
are  under  the  dupes  of  pretended  patriots  ;  they  are  daily 
misled  into  the  most  baleful  measures  of  opinions/' 

It  was  necessary  to  have  a  central  government,  which 
could  give  security  to  all  the  States,  and  at  the  same  time 
not  conflict  in  its  powers  with  their  rights. 

It  was  found  very  difficult  to  arrange  satisfactorily  the 


THE    CONSTITUTION    COMPLETED.  521 

representation  in  the  two  branches  of  the  proposed  govern- 
ment.  The  smaller  States  were  alarmed,  lest  their  rights 
would  be  infringed  upon  by  the  overwhelming  majority  of  178V. 
members  coming  from  the  larger  ones.  This  difficulty 
was  removed  by  constituting  the  Senate,  in  which  the 
States  were  represented  equally  without  reference  to  their 
population  ;  each  being  entitled  to  two  members,  while  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  the  States  were  to  be  repre- 
sented in  proportion  to  their  population. 

After  four  months  of  labor,  during  which  every  article 
was  thoroughly  discussed,  the  Constitution  was  finished 
and  signed  by  all  the  members  present,  with  the  exception 
of  three  ;  Gerry,  of  Massachusetts,  George  Mason  and 
Edmund  Randolph,  of  Virginia.  This  result  was  not  ob- 
tained without  much  discussion  ;  at  one  time,  so  adverse 
were  opinions  that  it  was  apprehended  the  Convention 
would  dissolve,  leaving  its  work  unfinished.  It  was  then 
that  Franklin  proposed  they  should  choose  a  chaplain  to 
open  their  sessions  by  prayer.  Said  he  :  "I  hafe  lived  a 
long  time  ;  and  the  longer  I  live  the  more  convincing 
proofs  I  see  of  this  truth,  that  God  governs  the  affairs  of 
men.  And  if  a  sparrow  cannot  fall  to  the  ground  without 
his  notice,  is  it  possible  that  an  empire  can  rise  without 
his  aid  ?  " 

The  Convention  presented  the  Constitution  thus 
framed  to  Congress,  and  that  body  submitted  it  to  the 
people  of  the  States  for  their  approval  or  rejection. 

It  was  a  document  of  compromises;  probably  not  a  •• 
member  of  the  Convention  was  perfectly  satisfied  with  it. 
There  were  three  prominent  compromises  ;  the  first,  the 
equal  representation  in  the  Senate,  a  concession  to  the 
smaller  States  ;  the  second,  that  in  the  enumeration  of 
the  inhabitants  three-fifths  of  the  slaves  were  to  be  in- 
cluded in  determining  the  ratio  of  representation  in  the 
lower  house  of  Congress  ;  a  concession  to  the  slaveholders  ; 


522 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


xxxvni   and   tlie  tllircl>  permission,  till  1808,  to  the  States  of 

',  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  to  receive  slaves  imported 

1T87.  from  Africa,  as  the  delegates  from  those  two  States  re- 
fused to  sign  the  Constitution  except  on  that  condition. 
The  great  desire  to  secure  the  moral  power  of  a  unanimous 
vote  of  the  members  of  the  Convention  in  favor  of  their 
own  work,  alone  obtained  this  concession. 

In  less  than  a  year  after  the  Constitution  was  submitted 
to  the  people,  it  was  adopted  by  all  the  States,  except 
North  Carolina  and  Ehode  Island,  and  by  them  in  less 
than  two  years. 

This  ratification  of  the  Constitution  was  not  brought 
about  without  a  struggle.  The  subject  was  discussed  in 
conventions  and  in  the  legislatures,  and  in  the  newspapers. 
The  States  were  for  a  time  unwilling  to  resign  any  of  their 
sovereignty  to  a  Federal  or  Central  government. 

Many  elaborate  essays,  collectively  known  as  the 
Federalist,  were  written  by  Alexander  Hamilton,  Jay, 
and  Madison,  in  favor  of  its  adoption.  These  essays  had 
an  immense  influence  upon  the  leading  minds  of  the 
country  ;  and  these  in  turn  greatly  influenced  the  popular 
will. 

It  shows  the  practical  wisdom  of  those  who  framed  the 
Constitution,  that  in  the  application  of  its  principles  for 
almost  three  quarters  of  a  century,  it  has  been  found 
necessary  to  change  or  modify  only  very  few  of  its  ar- 
ticles. 

m^  While  the  Convention  which  framed  the  Constitution 
was  in  session  in  Philadelphia,  the  Continental  Congress  in 
July  New  York  passed  a  bill  "  for  the  government  of  the  Terri- 
tory north-west  of  the  Ohio."  That  region  had  been  ceded  to 
the  United  States  by  the  States  of  Massachusetts,  Connec- 
ticut, New  York  and  Virginia.  In  this  bill  were  introduced 
provisions  securing  the  exercise  of  religious  freedom,  and 
for  the  encouragement  of  schools,  and  also  the  proviso  that 
"  there  shall  be  neither  slavery,  nor  involuntary  servitude 


ECCLESIASTICAL   ORGANIZATIONS.  523 

in  said  territory,  otherwise  than  in  punishment  for  crime."    CHAP. 

The  region  south  of  the  Ohio  was  to  be  afterward  regu-  

lated.  Three  years  before  Thomas  Jefferson  had  intro-  1784. 
duced  a  bill,  and  urged  its  passage  with  all  his  influence, 
to  exclude  slavery  not  only  from  the  territory  then  held 
by  the  United  States,  but  from  all  which  should  thereafter 
be  ceded  to  Congress  by  the  respective  States.  This  bill 
failed  by  only  a  few  votes. 

The  people,  though  thus  engaged  in  moulding  their 
political  institutions,  did  not  neglect  to  conform  their  sys- 
tems of  ecclesiastical  government  to  the  new  order  of 
things.  The  Eevolution  had  changed  the  relation  of  the 
religious  denominations  to  the  State.  In  New  England, 
Congregationalism  was  the  established  religion,  and  every 
citizen  was  required  to  aid  in  the  support  of  some  church. 
In  all  the  southern  colonies  the  Episcopal  Church  was 
equally  favored,  and  partially  so  in  New  York  and  New 
Jersey.  Only  in  Pennsylvania,  Khode  Island,  and  Dela- 
ware, were  all  the  Protestant  sects  on  an  equality,  as  to 
their  religious  rights. 

The  Episcopal  Church  was  more  disorganized  than  any 
other.  It  had  hitherto  been  attached  to  the  diocese  of 
the  Bishop  of  London,  but  now  that  authority  was  not 
recognized. 

As  yet  there  was  no  American  bishop,  and  no  means 
to  obtain  the  consecration  of  any  clergyman  to  that  office, 
except  by  English  bishops.  Accordingly'  the  Keverend 
Samuel  Seabury,  of  Connecticut,  at  the  request  of  the 
Episcopalians  of  that  State,  visited  England  to  obtain  or- 
dination as  a  bishop.  But  the  English  bishops  were  pre- 
vented by  law  of  Parliament  from  raising  any  one  to  that 
dignity,  who  did  not  take  the  oaths  of  allegiance,  and  ac- 
knowledge the  King  as  head  of  the  Church.  Seabury  then 
applied  to  the  non-juring  bishops  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
of  Scotland,  by  whom  he  was  ordained.  Some  Episco- 


524  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

palians,  however,  were  not  satisfied  with  an  ordination  at 
the  hands  of  the  Scottish  bishops. 

1787. 

A  convention  of  delegates,  from  several  States,  met 
and  formed  a  constitution  for  the  "  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America."  After  some 
revision  this  constitution  was  adopted  by  conventions  in 
the  separate  States.  Titles  were  changed  in  order  to  con- 
form to  republicanism  ;  such  as  "  Lord  Bishop,"  and  all 
such  as  were  "  descriptive  of  temporal  power  and  prece- 
dency." The  Liturgy  for  the  same  reason  was  modified. 
A  friendly  letter  was  addressed  to  the  English  bishops,  re- 
questing at  their  hands  ordination  of  American  bishops. 
An  Act  of  Parliament  gave  the  desired  authority,  and 
William  White,  of  Philadelphia,  Samuel  Provost,  of  New 
York,  and  James  Madison,  of  Virginia,  were  thus  ordained. 
Soon  after  these  ordinations,  a  General  Convention  ratified 
the  constitution,  and  the  organization  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  was  complete. 

*.;  About  this  time  came  Thomas  Coke,  as  superintend- 
ent or  bishop  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He 
had  been  an  able  laborer  with  Wesley,  by  whom  he  was 
ordained  to  that  office.  This  sect  spread  very  rapidly, 
especially  in  the  south  ;  in  that  section  of  the  country 
were  a  great  many  vacant  parishes,  which  belonged  to 
the  Episcopal  Church,  numbers  of  whose  clergymen  left 
the  country  during  the  troubles  of  the  K  evolution.  At 
this  time  the  denomination  did  not  number  more  than 
ninety  preachers,  and  fifteen  thousand  members. 

The  institutions  of  the  Congregational  and  Presby- 
terian Churches  required  no  change  to  adapt  them  to  the 
new  order  of  things. 

The  Presbyterians  took  measures  to  organize  their 
Church  government  on  a  national  basis.  Four  Synods 
were  formed  out  of  the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia. A  General  Assembly,  composed  of  delegates  from 


THE    SEPARATION    OF    CHURCH   AND    STATE.  525 

all  the  Presbyteries  of  the  land,  was  authorized  to  meet  ^AP 

A  AAV  ill 

annually. 

Soon  after  the  treaty  of  peace  with  England,  the  i^ss. 
Pope's  Nuncio  at  Paris  made  overtures  to  Congress, 
through  Doctor  Franklin,  on  the  subject  of  appointing  a 
Vicar  Apostolic  or  bishop  fomtihe  United  States.  On  the 
ground  that  the  subject  was  purely  spiritual,  and  there- 
fore beyond  its  jurisdiction,  Congress  refused  to  take  any 
part  in  the  matter.  The  Pope  then  appointed  as  his  vicar 
apostolic,  John  Carroll,  a  brother  of  Charles  Carroll,  of 
Carrollton  ;  the  same  was  afterward  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  Archbishop  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United 
States. 

Almost  immediately  after  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence the  Presbytery  of  Hanover,  in  Virginia,  address- 
ed a  memorial  to  the  House  of  Assembly,  in  which  they 
petitioned  for  the  separation  of  church  and  state.  They  1776. 
preferred  that  the  gospel  should  be  supported  by  the  free 
gifts  of  its  friends  ;  they  asked  no  aid  from  the  civil 
power  to  maintain  their  own  churches,  and  were  unwilling 
that  any  denomination  should  thus  be  favored.  The 
movement  thus  commenced  was  ardently  seconded  by  the 
Baptists  and  Quakers,  who  petitioned  the  Assembly  to 
the  same  effect.  These  petitions  were  met  by  counter- 
memorials  from  the  Episcopalians  and  Methodists,  who 
urged  in  behalf  of  the  Establishment,  that  it  was  a  system 
which  "  possessed  the  nature  of  a  vested  riglfc,  and  ought 
to  be  maintained  inviolate." 

The  separation  of  church  and  state  soon  became  a 
prominent  question  in  Virginia.  Jefferson  took  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  animated  contest,  but  the  most  effective 
was  the  united  influence  of  those  who  first  opposed  the 
establishment,  and  who  never  relaxed  their  efforts  till  the  • 

churches  were  declared  independent  of  the  civil  power,  and 
every  colonial  law  interfering  with  the  religious  rights  of 
the  people  was  swept  away. 


526  HISTORY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


XXXVffl         ^ke  example  thus  set  by  Virginia  was  not  without  its 

-  influence  ;  the  union  of  church  and  state  was  dissolved 

1788.    in  the  other  States  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Kevolution, 

except  in  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  where  the  sys- 

tem was  retained  many  years  longer.1 

1  Hildreth,  Vol.  III.     Dr.  Hawks*  Contributions  to  Ecclesiastical  History 
of  the  U.  S.    Dr.  Baird's  Religion  in  America. 


•r  IB* 


>*   4 


. 


>**•••  **••'. 

•  w  ** 


^^ 

•    f    * 


CHAPTEK    XXXIX. 

WASHINGTON'S   ADMINISTRATION. 

-•vi"  :t^«*     •-»'"  3-  V.  **" 

The  Reception  and  Inauguration  of  the  President. — An  Era  in  human  pro- 
gress.— The  Departments  of  State  organized. — Hamilton's  Financial 
Report. — Congress  Assumes  the  Debts  of  the  Nation. — The  National 
Bank. — Commercial  Enterprise. — Manufactures. — Indian  War. — Har- 
mer's  Repulse. — St.  Clair  defeated. — Wayne  defeats  the  Indians. — Po- 
litical Parties. — Jefferson. — The  French  Revolution. — Genet  arrives  as 
French  Minister. — War  between  France  and  England. — Neutrality  pro- 
claimed by  the  President. — Partisans  of  France. — Arrogant  proceed- 
ings of  Genet. — The  Whiskey  Insurrection. — Special  Mission  to  Great 
Britain. — A  Treaty  concluded. — Its  Ratification. — Other  Treaties. — 
Washington's  Farewell  Address. — The  Policy  of  the  Government 
estabh'shed. 

WHEN  two-thirds  of  the  States  had  adopted  the  Fed-  CHAP. 

eral  Constitution,  it  became  the  ]aw  of  the  land.     The  ' 

Continental  Congress — that  body  so  remarkable  in  its  1789. 
origin,  in  what  it  had  accomplished,  and  now  about  to 
pass  out  of  existence — ordained  that  the  new  government 
should  go  into  operation  on  the  4th  of  MaTch,  and  also 
designated  the  city  of  New  York  as  the  place  where  the 
National  Congress  should  hold  its  sessions.  The  same  au- 
thority also  named  the  time  for  electing  the  President  and 
Vice-President,  according  to  the  manner  prescribed  in  the 
Constitution. 

The  hearts  of  the  American  people  were  turned  to 
one  man.  George  Washington  was  unanimously  chosen 
the  first  President  of  the  Kepublic.  John  Adams  received 
the  next  highest  number  of  votes,  and  was  elected  Vice- 


528  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

*  •    * 

CHAP.  President.     Charles  Thompson,  the  old  Secretary  of  Con- 
'  gress,  was  sent  to  Mount  Vernon  to  inform  "Washington 


#•*• 


1789.  of  his  election,  and  another  messenger  to  Boston,  to  inform 
Adams  of  his.  The  latter  had  just  returned  from  a  resi- 
dency of  nine  years  in  Europe,  where  he  had  been  engaged 
in  public  business  ;  he  imm^ately  set  out  to  enter  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office.  As  a  mark  of  respect,  he  was 
escorted  by  a  troop  of  horse  through  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut,  and  was  met  at  the  New  York  State  line, 
and  in  a  similar  manner  attended  to  the  city. 

Washington  wished  to  travel  to  New  York  in  as 
private  a  manner  as  possible.  But  enthusiasm  and  re- 
spect, drew  the  people  in  crowds  to  see  and  honor  him. 
The  authorities  of  the  States  through  which  he  passed, 
vied  with  each  other  in  testifying  their  regard.  The  most 
graceful  reception,  and  no  doubt  to  him  the  most  grateful, 
was  the  one  he  received  at  Trenton.  As  he  came  to  the 
bridge,  over  which,  twelve  years  before,  on  the  eve  of  the 
battle  of  Princeton,  he  retreated  with  his  weary  and  dis- 
heartened soldiers,  he  found  it  spanned  by  a  triumphal 
arch  bearing  the  inscription  :  "  The  Defender  of  the 
Mothers  will  be  the  Protector  of  the  Daughters."  Here 
were  assembled  a  company  of  matrons  and  young  girls, 
dressed  in  white,  with  baskets  of  flowers  in  their  hands. 
As  he  approached  they  began  to  sing  an  appropriate  ode, 
written  for  the  occasion.  At  the  close  of  the  line,  "  strew 
your  hero's  way  with  flowers,"  they  suited  the  action  to 
the  sentiment  by  strewing  the  flowers  before  him.  At 
Elizabethport  he  was  met  by  a  committee  of  both  Houses 
of  Congress,  and  the  heads  of  departments,  and  received 
on  board  a  barge,  magnificently  decorated,  and  manned 
by  thirteen  pilots  in  appropriate  uniforms.  The  barge 
was  accompanied  by  ar  numerous  cortege  of  boats  filled 
with  citizens.  Welcomed  to  the  city,  amidst  the  salutes 
of  artillery  from  the  ships  in  the  harbor,  American  as  well 
as  foreign,  and  from  the  battery,  he  was  conducted  to 

"•'/  .  *  .*  •*•  *     '•' 

*x'.<r£.^        *  A. 


, 

*v 

f 

',  ;    ^"    ; 

INAUGURATION    OF    WASHINGTON.  529 

the  house  prepared  for  his  reception,  by  Governor  George 
Clinton,  the  State  officers,  and  a  numerous  concourse  of 
people. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  April,  at  9  o'clock,  the 
churches  were  opened  for  religious  services  and  prayer.    A 
little  after  the  hour  of  noon,  on  the  balcony  of  the  Federal 
Hall,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Custom  House,  in  the 
presence  of  a  vast  concourse  of  people  in  the  streets,  the 
oath  of  office  was  administered  to  the  President  elect,  by  April. 
Eobert  K.  Livingston,  Chancellor  of  New  York.     At  the 
close  of  the  ceremony  the  Chancellor  exclaimed  :  "  Long 
live  George  Washington,  President  of  the  United  States  ! "          ^   JJ 
The  assembled  multitude  responded  to  the  sentiment. 

The  members  of  both  Houses  returned  to  the  Senate*  i 
chamber,  where  the  President  delivered  an  inaugural  ad- 
dress, replete  with  wisdom  and  with  sentiments  designed 
to  harmonize  the  discordant  opinions  which  prevailed,  and 
with  renewed  expressions  of  gratitude  to  Heaven  for  the 
favor  granted  the  people  of  America,  in  all  their  struggles. 
Then  he  closed  by  announcing  that  he  would  receive  no 
remuneration  for  his  services,  only  asking  that  his  ex- 
penses might  be  paid.  The  members  of  Congress,  ac- 
companied by  the  President,  then  went  in  procession  to 
St.  Paul's  church,  where,  led  by  Bishop  Provost,  the 
Chaplain  of  the  Senate,  they  implored  the  blessing  of  the 
King  of  nations  upon  the  government  just  inaugurated. 

The  youthful  nation  was  about  to  assume  the  powers 
of  self-government,  under  circumstances  never  before  wit- 
nessed in  the  history  of  man ;  to  throw  off  the  useless 
in  forms  and  systems,  retain  what  was  valuable,  and  com- 
mence a  new  era  in  human  progress.  The  people  them- 
selves established  their  own  government  ;  its  Constitution 
was  framed  to  secure  their  own  welfare,  and  not  to  make 
the  State  great  at  their  expense.  They  had  learned  this 
of  their  fathers.  In  English  history  all  the  great  advances 
in  securing  the  enjoyment  of  human  rights,  from  the  day 
34 


» 


530 


HISTOKY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


xmx 


1789. 


** 


I 


on  which  Magna  Charta  was  given  to  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  had  tended  to  protect  the  rights  of  the 
subject — the  individual  man — and  now  this  principle,  un- 
trammelled by  clogging  forms,  was  to  be  carried  out.  The 
individual  man  was  to  be  pre-eminent ;  the  State  only  his 
instrument,  the  mere  machine  of  his  own  contriving,  de- 
signed and  moulded  from  time  to  time  to  protect  his  civil 
and  religious  privileges.  In  the  great  empires  of  the  Old 
World,  the  empire  was  every  thing  ;  the  people  nothing. 
Now  the  people  were  to  be  every  thing ;  henceforth  they  were 
to  be  the  fountain  of  power  and  influence.  Ancient  Greece 
and  Kome  had  their  civilization,  their  literature,  their 
art,  their  liberty  ;  but  they  failed  ;  they  had  no  elevating 
principle  like  Christianity  to  permeate  and  influence  the 
people,  penetrate  their  inmost  life,  and  dignify  the  hum- 
blest by  bringing  into  exercise  the  noblest  attributes  of 


•ts 


their 


nature.     A  Christianized  civilization  ;    the  recog- 


nition of  man's  dearest  rights  ;  an  open  field  for  individual 
enterprise  ;  attachment  to  institutions  under  whose  ample 
shield  protection  was  secured  to  all,  were  so  many  pledges 
of  the  ultimate  success  of  a  people  thus  governed. 

The  new  government  had  before  it  a  difficult  task  to 
arrange  the  various  departments  of  State  ;  to  obtain 
revenue,  and  pay  off  the  national  debt.  Three  executive 
departments  were  created,  the  presiding  officers  of  which 
were  styled  secretaries  —  the  Treasury,  War,  including 
that  of  the  Navy,  and  Foreign  Affairs.  These  secretaries, 
the  President,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate,  could 
appoint  to  office,,  or  dismiss  from  the  same.  They  were 
to  constitute  his  cabinet  or  council  ;  and  when  requested 
by  him,  were  bound  to  give  in  writing  their  opinions  on 
the  subject  under  discussion.  A  judiciary  for  the  nation 
was  established,  under  the  title  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  having  subordinate  Circuit  and  District 
courts.  Washington  nominated  Alexander  Hamilton, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  General  Knox,  Secretary  of 


'*'"'•* 


D.A-trjaetoi;.  &  C 


. 


* 


* 


* 

tf.  • 


THE   FIRST   SESSION    OF    THE   FIRST   CONGRESS.  5 


31 


War  ;  Thomas  Jefferson,  Secretary  ror  Foreign  Affairs  ;  CHAP. 
John  Jay,  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  Edmund  _  ! 
Randolph,  Attorney-General.  1789. 

The  first  session  of  Congress,  a  laborious  one  of  six 
months,  was  spent  in  organizing  the  government.  It 
shows  the  spirit  of  the  times,  that  before  they  adjourned 
Congress  passed  a  resolution,  requesting  the  President  to 

k  recommend  a  "  day  of  public  thanksgiving  and  prayer,  in 
acknowledgment  of  the  many  signal  favors  of  Almighty 
God,  and  especially  his  affording  the  people  an  oppor- 
tunity peaceably  to  establish  a  constitution  of  government 
for  their  safety  and  happiness." 

In  January,  the  second  session  of  the  First  Congress  1790. 
commenced.  The  President,  instead  of  sending  a  written 
message,  as  is  now  the  custom,  made  to  both  Houses,  as- 
sembled in  the  Senate  chamber,  an  address.  He  directed 
their  attention  to  the  public  defence  ;  to  the  encourage- 
ment of  agriculture,  manufactures,  commerce,  and  litera- 
ture ;  to  the  enactment  of  naturalization  laws,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  payment  of  the  national  debt.  These  various 
heads  of  business  were  referred  to  committees.  During 
this  session  the  official  intercourse  between  the  heads  of 
departments  and  the  Houses  of  Congress  took  the  form  of 
written  communications. 

Hamilton  made  his  celebrated  financial  report,  in  which 
he  recommended  certain  measures  for  obtaining  revenue 
to  defray  the  current  expenses  of  the  Government  and  pay 
off  the  national  debt.  This  debt  was  in  the  form  of  cer- 
tificates or  notes  of  obligation  to  pay  for  value  received. 
During  the  war  they  had  been  issued  by  the  States  as 
well  as  by  Congress,  to  persons  who  furnished  supplies*  to 
the  army,  arid  for  other  services.  Congress  assumed  these 
debts,  and  also  the  foreign  debt.  The  expenses  of  two 
distinct  governments  —  the  Federal  and  that  of  the  separate 


States  —  were  to  be  borne.  JiThe  revenue  could  be  derived 
only  from  taxes  on  property.     As  the  control  of  commerce 


,    • 


ftf 


532  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


* 


had  been  transferred  to  Congress  by  the  States,  it  was 
fitting  that  the  revenue  derived  from  the  tax  or  duty  levied 

1790.  on  imported  merchandise  should  be  appropriated  to  the 
support  of  the  Federal  Government,  while  that  arising 
from  real  estate  and  other  sources,  should  be  assigned  to 
the  use  of  the  States.  Hamilton  proposed,  and  the  gov- 
ernment adopted  the  system  of  indirect  taxation  by  rais- 
ing revenue  from  the  duties  thus  imposed  ;  and  to  meet  a 
certain  deficiency  at  the  time,  an  excise,  or  tax  on  the 
manufacture  of  domestic  spirits. 

Near  the  close  of  this  session,  Congress,  after  much  dis- 
cussion, passed  a  bill  to  locate  the  seat  of  the  General 
Government  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac*and  authorized 
the  President  to  select  the  spot  within  certain  limits,  and 
to  make  arrangements  for  trie  erection  of  suitable  build- 
ings. Until  these  should  be  ready  for  occupation,  its  ses- 
sions were  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia,  at  which  place,  ac- 

Dec.    cordingly,  the  second  Congress  began  its  first  session. 
'  The  President  congratulated  the  members  on  the  in- 

creasing prosperity  of  the  country,  and  the  unexpected 
success  in  obtaining  revenue.  On  the  recommendation  of 
Hamilton,  Congress  gave  a  charter  for  twenty  years  for  a 
National  Bank,  with  the  privilege  to  establish  branches  in 
any  of  the  States.  The  capital  of  the  Bank  was  ten  mil- 
lions, of  which  the  government  took  two  millions,  and  in- 
dividuals the  remainder.  The  Bank  was  as  beneficial  to 
the  government  as  it  was  to  the  commercial  interests  of 
the  country.  Its  bills  were  payable  in  gold  or  silver  when 
presented  at  its  counters.  This  feature  had  a  decided 
effect  ;  it  raised  the  credit  of  the  General  Government, 
and  inspired  confidence  in  the  commercial  world.  The 
first  census,  just  taken,  showed  the  population  of  the  States 
to  be  almost  four  millions. 

By  assuming  the  debts  contracted  by  the  States  in 
trie  defence  of  their  common  liberties,  Congress  had  simply 
performed  an  act  of  justice  j  provision  was  made  to  pay 

'' 


•«         qnp^.  .         .    .,.-• 

•   . 

COMMERCIAL    ENTERPRISE — DOMESTIC    MANUFACTURES.  533 

the  interest,  and  also  in  time  to  liquidate  the  debts  them-   CHAP. 

XXXIX. 


selves.  The  duties  imposed  upon  imports  to  raise  revenue, 
had  also  a  beneficial  effect  upon  the  struggling  manufac-  1790. 
tures  of  the  country.  The  mutual  confidence  between  the 
States  and  the  Federal  Government,  produced  a  like  in- 
fluence upon  the  minds  of  the  people  ;  their  industry  was 
encouraged,  and  their  commerce  extended.  American 
merchantmen  were  seen  on  almost  every  sea  ;  some  sailed 
to  the  north-west  coast  of  the  continent,  where,  in  ex- 
change for  trinkets,  they  obtained  furs  ;  these  they  barter- 
ed for  cargoes  in  China,  and  these  again  they  sold  at  home 
at  an  immense  profit ;  while  others  were  as  busily  employ- 
ed in  the  trade  to  the  East  and  West  Indies,  and  to  Eu- 
rope. About  this  time  Captain  G-ray,  of  Boston,  returned 
from  a  voyage  around  the  world — the  first  ever  made  by 
an  American.  On  his  second  voyage  he  discovered,  and 
to  a  certain  extent,  explored  the  Columbia  river. 

Though  the  Kevolution  broke  the  fetters  with  which 
English  cupidity  had  bound  the  domestic  manufactures 
of  the  colonies,  still  there  were  innumerable  difficulties  in 
the  way.  A  coarse  fabric,  known  as  linsey-woolsey,  and 
dyed  in  various  colors,  derived  from  the  bark  of  trees  in 
the  forest,  comprised  almost  entirely  the  extent  of  domes- 
tic cloths.  At  the  town  of  Beverly,  in  Massachusetts,  was 
established  the  first  factory  for  making  cotton  cloth.  "  The  if  88. 
patriotic  adventurers"  were  not  very  successful  in  their 
enterprise,  though  they  had  machines  that  could  "  card 
forty  pounds  of  cotton  in  a  day,  and  spin  sixty  threads  at 
a  time."  Newburyport  has  the  honor  of  having  the  first 
factory  for  making  woollen  cloths,  and  two  years  later  an 
establishment  for  printing  calico.  These  crude  efforts 
were  not  very  successful,  but  they  were  the  harbingers  of 
future  triumphs. 

Sir  Kichard  Arkwright  improved  upon  a  machine  in- 
vented by  a  poor  man  named  Highs,  who  called  it  a 
"  Jenny,"  in  honor  of  his  daughter,  and  who;  amid  many 


j  daugl 

'^^*- 


* 

J&~ 

534  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


mix  Discouragements,  aJPthe  jeers  of  his  ignorant  neighbors, 
-  contrived  to  spin  a  dozen  threads  of  cotton  at  a  time. 

1794.  He  turned  his  machine  by  hand  ;  Arkwright  arranged  it 
to  be  driven  by  water-power.  Samuel  Slater,  "  the  father 
of  American  manufactures,"  a  native  of  Derbyshire,  an 
apprentice  of  Arkwright's  partner,  made  himself  familiar, 
not  merely  with  the  use  of  the  machine,  but  with  the 
construction  of  the  machines  themselves.  The  British 
government  did  every  thing  in  its  power  to  retain  the 
knowledge  of  the  invention  within  the  kingdom.  Slater 
resolved  to  emigrate  to  America,  and  there  introduce  this 
art  of  spinning  cotton.  He  landed  at  New  York,  but  not 
meeting  with  encouragement,  he  went  to  Khode  Island, 

1790.  and  at  Pawtucket  put  in  operation  sixty-two  spindles  on 
the  Arkwright  principle.     Sixteen  years  later  he  was  join- 
ed by  his  brother,  John  Slater,  who  brought  with  him  the 
recent  improvements  in  the  art. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  Indian  troubles  were  on  the 
increase.  The  British  neglected  to  give  up  the  Western 
posts  according  to  the  treaty,  but  retained  them  with  their 
small  garrisons.  The  Indians  became  restless,  and  oc- 
casionally made  incursions  against  the  frontier  settlements, 
especially  those  in  Kentucky.  It  was  surmised  that 
Oct.  British  emissaries  had  excited  them  to  these  outrages. 

The  year  previous  they  had  repulsed  General  Harmer, 
who  had  been  sent  against  them,  and  this  success  increas- 
ed their  boldness.  General  St.  Glair,  now  Governor  of  the 
North-west  Territory,  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
another  expedition  against  them.  In  the  mean  time  vol- 
unteers from  Kentucky  made  desultory  expeditions  into 
the  wilderness  north  of  the  Ohio.  They  attacked  all  the 
Indians  they  met,  friendly  or  unfriendly,  but  the  latter 
generally  kept  out  of  their  way  ;  to  burn  empty  wigwams, 
and  destroy  cornfields,  only  exasperated  the  savages  more 

1791.  and  more. 

%    • 


4 

INDIAN    WAR ST.    CLAIR'S   DEFEAT.  535 

It  was  the  middle  of  September  fefore  St.  Clair,  with  CHAP. 

an  army  of  about  two  thousand  men,  began  his  march  ' 

from  Fort  Washington,  the  little  stockade  fort  on  the  site  1V91. 
of  the  present  city  of  CINCINNATI.  It  was  his  object  to 
open  a  way,  and  establish  a  line  of  posts  from  the  Ohio  to 
the  Maumee,  and  there  build  and  garrison  a  strong  fort, 
as  a  check  upon  the  marauding  Indians.  Two  of  these 
posts  he  had  already  established.  The  militia  who  joined  ^ 
the  army  from  Kentucky,  were  insubordinate,  and,  as  the 
army  could  move  but  very  slowly  in  cutting  its  way 
through  the  wilderness,  they  grew  impatient,  and  finally 
numbers  of  them  returned  home.  The  Chickasaw  warriors 
also  deserted,  and  his  force  was  reduced  to  fourteen  hundred  Nov. 
men.  When  he  reached  the  head-waters  of  the  Wabash, 
his  army  was  surprised  by  Little  Turtle,  a  celebrated 
Miami  chief,  and  the  Indians,  who  had  hitherto  contrived 
to  keep  out  of  sight.  The  militia  fled  immediately,  and 
threw  the  regulars  into  confusion,  who  could  not  regain 
their  order,  nor  sustain  the  attack.  St.  Clair  was  in  his 
tent  prostrated  by  illness  and  not  able  to  mount  his  horse, 
and  when  Colonel  Butler  fell,  the  army  commenced  its 
retreat,  or  rather  flight,  abandoning  every  thing.  For- 
tunately, plunder  had  more  attractions  for  the  savages 
than  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  The  remnant  of  the  army 
returned  to  Fort  Washington,  and  the  whole  frontier  was 
again  defenceless.  St.  Clair  resigned  his  command,  and 
the  President  appointed  General  Wayne,  whom  we  have 
seen  so  daring  in  the  battles  of  the  Revolution,  to  lead 
the  next  expedition ;  for  the  sake  of  connection  the  ac- 
count of  this  will  be  given  here. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  negotiate  a  peace,  but  with- 
out  success ;   in   the  mean  while  Wayne  was  at  Fort 
Washington,  earnestly  engaged  in  recruiting  and  organ-    1794. 
izing  his  army.     With  his  usual  energy  he  pushed  his 
forces  rapidly  forward  to  the  scene  of  St.   Clair's  defeat,    June, 
and  there  built  a  fort  which  he  named  Eecovery.     This 


536  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

tfjJL' 

xxxix   ^°rt  ^e  *n(^ans  Besieged  for  two  days,  but  were  at  length 

driven  off.     Six  weeks  after  he  suddenly  marched  to  the 

1794.  Maumee.  The  Indians  were  taken  by  surprise.  They 
took  position  amidst  some  fallen  timber,  prostrated  by  a 
hurricane,  in  order  to  avoid  the  cavalry,  of  which  they  had 
a  great  fear.  Wayne  ordered  the  infantry  to  charge  with 
Aug.  the  bayonet  through  the  timber.  The  Indians  were  im- 
mediately routed,  and  scattered  in  all  directions.  The 
fertile  valleys  of  the  neighborhood  were  covered  with 
cornfields  ;  these  fields  of  grain  were  destroyed  up  to  the 
very  gates  of  the  British  fort,  which  Wayne  could  scarcely 
restrain  his  army  from  attacking.  Thus,  in  a  campaign 
of  ninety  days,  he  had  marched  three  hundred  miles,  the 
greater  part  of  the  road  cut  by  the  army,  had  completely 
broken  the  Indian  power,  destroyed  their  provisions  for 
the  next  winter,  and  established  a  full  garrisoned  fort  in 
Nov.  the  midst  of  their  country.  He  now  returned  to  Green- 
ville, on  the  Miami,  to  winter-quarters. 

The  following  summer  eleven  hundred  warriors,  repre- 
sentatives from  the  western  tribes,  met  Wayne  at  that 
^_ll£-  place  and  made  a  treaty  which  secured  peace  to  the  fron- 
tier. Their  friends  the  British  were  about  to  evacuate  the 
western  posts,  and  they  found  it  more  to  their  advantage 
to  submit.  They  ceded  at  this  time  nearly  all  the  terri- 
tory of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio,  for  which  they  were 
paid.  For  twenty  years  the  Indians  had  made  incursions 
into  Kentucky,  and  during  that  time  they  had  carried 
off  a  great  number  of  captives.  By  this  treaty  all  these 
captives  were  to  be  restored  to  their  friends.  It  was  a 
moving  spectacle  to  see  parents  endeavoring  to  find  their 
children,  who,  years  before,  had  been  taken  from  their 
homes,  some  of  them  had  forgotten  their  native  language, 
some  preferred  to  stay  with  their  savage  captors  rather 
than  return  to  civilized  life.  Many  husbands  and  wives 
who  had  been  separated  for  years,  were  restored  to  each 
other. 


«   * 

*       '    w  '    -•  ... 

CONFLICT    OF   OPINIONS JEFFEKSON.  537 


The  conflict  of  opinions,  in  regard  to  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution,  had  created  two  parties  ;  the  Federal- 
1st  and  the  Anti-Federalist  :  the  one,  the  administration    1792. 
and  its  friends  ;  the  other,  those  opposed  to  its  policy.     As 
the  Constitution  became  more  and  more  popular,  opposi- 
tion was  specially  made  to  Hamilton's  management  of  the 
financial  affairs  of  the  government.     Time  has  proved  the 
wisdom  of  his  policy,  which  has  continued,  in  the  main,      A 
to  be  that  of  the  government  from  that  day  to  this. 

"  He  was  made  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  and  how 
he  fulfilled  the  duties  of  such  a  place,  at  such  a  time,  the 
whole  country  perceived  with  delight,  and  the  whole  world 
saw  with  admiration.  He  smote  the  rock  of  the  national 
resources,  and  abundant  streams  of  revenue  gushed  forth. 
He  touched  the  dead  corpse  of  the  Public  Credit,  and  it 
sprang  upon  its  feet/' 1 

In  this  opposition  Jefferson,  the  Secretary  of  State,  per- 
formed a  secret  but  active  part.  Having  been  some  years 
in  France,  as  American  Minister,  he  had  returned  home 
thoroughly  imbued  with  French  politics.  He  disliked 
Adams  almost  as  much  as  he  did  Hamilton,  and  he  seems 
to  have  been  haunted  with  the  idea  that  these  two  mem- 
bers of  the  cabinet  were,  in  disguise,  either  monarchists  or 
aristocrats  ;  that  they  were  devising  plans  to  change  the 
republican  form  of  the  government  ;  and  that  Washing- 
ton was  misled  by  them.  He  noticed  and  recorded  every 
remark  which  seemed  to  him  suspicious,  made  by  these 
gentlemen,  when  in  the  hours  of  unreserved  social  inter- 
course. While  ostensibly  the  friend  of  Washington  and 
his  administration,  he  was  in  communication  with  the  op- 
position, and  diffusing  his  opinions  in  his  private  corre- 
spondence. Measures,  which  at  one  time  he  himself  had 
approved,  he  now  feared  might  have  lurking  in  them  some 
latent  principle  which  might  lead  to  the  establishment  of 

* 

1  Daniel  "Webster. 


Jfe. 


* 


* 

538    Jfc  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

•  >V 
CHAR   &  monarchy.     His  party  thought  it  expedient  to  repudiate 

!  the  name,  Anti-Federalists,  and  assume  that  of  KEPUBLI- 

1793.  CAN,  at  the  same  time  proclaiming  they  were  the  only 
true  friends  of  the  people.  An  incessant  warfare  com- 
menced against  the  policy  of  the  government,  accompanied 
with  scurrilous  abuse  of  the  President. 

The  assumption  of  the  State  debts  ;  the  national 
bank  ;  the  manner  of  raising  the  revenue  ;  the  funding 
system,  by  which  provision  was  made  to  pay  the  interest 
on  the  national  debt,  were,  in  the  eye's  of  the  opposition, 
so  many  cunningly-devised  plans  to  create  friends  among 
the  rich,  and  in  the  end  subvert  the  liberties  of  the  country. 

The  public  interest  demanded  it,  and  after  much  so- 
licitation from  the  leading  members  of  the  government, 
Washington  consented  to  serve  for  a  second  term.  He 
was  unanimously  chosen.  Adams  was  re-elected  Yice- 
President  ;  he  receiving  seventy-seven  electoral  votes,  and 
George  Clinton,  of  New  York,  fifty. 

Two  months  and  a  half  after  the  first  inauguration  of 
Washington  as  President,  a  bloody  revolution  broke  out 
'„.  in  France.  The  people  of  the  United  States  looked  with 
much  interest  upon  the  French  people  struggling  for 
liberty.  But  it  was  soon  evident  that  the  state  of  the 
nation's  morals,  political  as  well  as  private,  forbade  the 
success  of  the  French  republic.  The  remembrance  of  the 
alliance  with  France,  by  which  they  had  received  aid  in 
the  time  of  need,  elicited  the  sympathy  of  the  American 
people.  The  republican  party  wished  to  form  an  alliance 
with  the  new  Eepublic,  while  Washington,  and  the  ma- 
jority of  his  cabinet,  as  well  as  the  more  judicious  states- 
men, were  in  favor  of  neutrality.  The  unheard-of  cruel- 
ties, which,  in  the  name  of  liberty,  had  been  practised  in 
France  for  a  year  or  two,  had  cooled  the  zeal  of  many. 
One  party  had  succeeded  by  guillotining  the  leaders  of  its 
rival ;  the  amiable  Louis,  who  had  aided  the  Americans 


NEUTRALITY    PROCLAIMED CITIZEN   GENET.  539 

in  their  struggle  for  liberty,  had  been  murdered  by  his  CHAR 
subjects  ;  and  Lafayette  was  forced  to  flee.     Strange  that  '. 


such  "  excesses  and  horrible  butcheries  "  found  apologists    1793. 
in  the  United  States.  April* 

While  the  public  mind  was  thus  divided,  came  Ed- 
mond  Charles  Genet  or  "  Citizen  Genet "  as  he  was 
styled,  as  minister  of  the  French  Eepublic.  He  brought 
the  intelligence  that  France  had  declared  war  against 
England.  Now  the  opposition,  urged  on  by  their  hatred 
to  the  latter  power,  wished  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with 
France,  and  thus  involve  the  country  in  war.  But  Wash- 
ington and  his  cabinet,  in  spite  of  these  clamors,  promptly 
proclaimed  neutrality  as  the  policy  of  the  United  States, 
and  also  warned  the  people  not  to  commit  acts  inconsist- 
ent with  the  proclamation  of  neutrality,  nor  with  the 
strictest  impartiality  towards  the  belligerents.  The  wis- 
dom of  the  Government  saved  the  country  from  a  mul- 
titude of  evils. 

Genet  took  advantage  of  the  sympathy  manifested  for 
France  by  a  portion  of  the  American  people,  and  began 
to  fit  out  privateers  against  English  commerce.  This 
was  an  insult  to  the  dignity  of  the  government,  and  a 
violation  of  the  proclaimed  neutrality.  But  the  parti- 
sans of  France  were  determined  that  the  country  should  be 
committed  to  an  alliance  with  the  great  sister  Kepublic 
in  the  old  world. 

About  this  time  numerous  societies,  modelled  after  the 
famous  Jacobin  clubs  in  Paris,  began  to  be  formed  in 
various  parts  of  the  Union.  The  more  ultra  assumed  the 
title  of  Democratic,  while  others  preferred  to  call  them- 
selves Democratic  Kepublican.  They  made  strenuous 
efforts  to  influence  the  public  mind  in  favor  of  French 
politics,  and  drive  the  government  from  its  determination 
not  to  interfere  in  the  quarrels  of  Europe.  The  President 
and  his  policy  were  asfcailed  in  terms  of  unmeasured  abuse. 
The  principal  organ  of  this  abuse  was  the  Gazette  news- 


540  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


,. 


CHAP,  paper,  edited  by  Philip  Freneau,  who  at  this  time  was  em- 

!  ployed  by  Jefferson  as  translating  clerk. 

1793.  The  ^Republican  newspapers  continued  to  accuse  the 
President  and  his  cabinet  of  being  enemies  of  France,  the 
only  friend  of  the  United  States,  and  of  being  friends  of 
England,  the  bitter  enemy  of  American  liberties. 

Genet  mistook  the  clamors  of  a  few  for  the  sentiments 
of  the  majority  of  the  people.  He  now  had  the  audacity 
to  authorize  the  French  consuls  in  the  ports  of  the  United 
States  to  receive  and  sell  prizes  taken  from  the  English, 
with  whom  we  were  at  peace.  He  had  also  other  projects 
in  view,  one  to  raise  men  in  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  and 
wrest  Florida  from  Spain,  another  to  raise  men  in  Ken- 
tucky and  make  an  attack  on  Louisiana. 

In  his  correspondence  with  the  government  he  became 
more  and  more  insolent,  imputed  improper  motives  to  its, 
members,  till  finally  the  President  transmitted  his  letters 
fcto  Gouverneur  Morris,  American  minister  at  Paris,  with 
directions  to  lay  them  before  the  Executive  Council — and 
request  his  recall. 

When  Genet  received  the   information  of  this  pro- 
|&-  cedure  he  was  thunderstruck.     He  charged  Jefferson  with 
insincerity,  as  "  having  an  official  language  and  a  lan- 
guage confidential." 

J||       Though   sympathizing  with  France  in  her  struggles 
for  liberty,  but  not  in  her  atrocious   excesses,  the  great 
* .  jL  majority  of  the  people,  when  informed  of  the  true  state  of 

the  case,  began  to  hold  meetings  and  express  their  appro- 
bation of  the  measures  adopted  by  the  President,  to 
prevent  his  country  from  being  embroiled  in  European 
quarrels. 

.  In  due  time  Morris  presented  the  request  that  Genet 
should  be  recalled  ;  but  another  change  had  occurred  in 
France.  The  management  of  affairs  had  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Jacobins  ;  the  Keign  of  Terror  had  com- 
menced. Genet  was  unceremoniously  recalled,  and  Mr. 


* 


"5* 


FIRST    SETTLERS    OF    WESTERN   PENNSYLVANIA.  54J 

Fauchet  appointed  in  his  place.      Genet  did  not  return  CHAP. 
home,  but  became  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  ! 

Through  much  toil  and  danger  had  the  fertile  valleys   From 
of  the  Monongahela  and  its  tributaries  been  settled.     The    1T68 
pioneers  were  principally  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians,  from      to 
eastern  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.     Their  trials  were  as    1^84- 
great   as   those   of  the   early   colonists.     At   first   their 
families  lived  in  blockhouses  or  forts,  through  fear  of  the 
Indians,  while  they,  as  they  cleared  the  forest  or  tilled  the 
soil,  were  always  armed  ;  they  even  carried  their  rifles  in 
their  hands  when  on  the  Sabbath  they  assembled  in  the 
grove,  or  the  rude  log  church,  to  hear  the  Gospel.     The 
untrodden  mountains  lay  between  them  and  the  settle- 
ments on  the  Atlantic  slope.     Across  these  mountains  the 
only  road  was  a  bridle-path  ;  the  only  conveyance  a  pack- 
horse.      Iron  and  salt  could  only  be  obtained  as  these 
pack-horses  carried  them  across  the  mountains.     Salt  was 
worth  eight  dollars  a  bushel ;  and  often  twenty  bushels 
of  wheat  were  given  in  exchange  for  one  of  salt.     Their 
fertile  fields  produced  an  abundance  of  grain,  especially^ 
wheat,  from  which  they  distilled  the  famed  Monongahela 
whiskey,  while  their  orchards  were  laden  with  apples  and 
peaches  from  which  they  made  brandies.     To  find  a  mar- 
ket for  these,  almost  their  only  product,  they  must  take 
a  long  and  dangerous  journey  in  flat-boats  down  the  Ohio 
and  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans,  and  thence  by  ship  to 
the  eastern  markets. 

The  tax  levied  upon  the  manufacture  of  domestic 
spirits  was  opposed  by  many.  It  was  no  doubt  looked 
upon  as  unequal,  as  it  was  appropriated  to  the  support  of 
the  Federal  government,  while  the  tax  itself  fell  upon 
only  a  small  portion  of  the  community.  But  nowhere 


was  it  so  persistently  resisted  as  by  these  settlers  of  the 
four  western  counties  of  Pennsylvania.  They  rose  in  open 
rebellion  ;  not  only  refused  to  pay  the  tax,  but  drove  off 
the  officers  appointed  to  collect  it.  This  opposition  was 


* 


*    f 

* 

542  HISTOBY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xxx§   not  con^ne(^  to  obscure  persons,  but  some  of  the  most  in- 

!  fluential  encouraged  the  multitude  to  resist  the  law  ;  but 

1794.  their  ministers,  to  a  man,  exerted  all  their  influence  in  favor 
of  obedience.  The  more  violent  leaders  openly  boasted 
they  would  not  only  resist  the  law,  but  separate  from 
Pennsylvania,  and  form  a  new  State.  They  professed  to 
have  very  little  regard  for  the  Federal  government,  and 
took  encouragement  from  the  same  party  that  sustained 
Genet.  To  discover  those  who  sent  information  of  their 
high-handed  measures  to  the  government,  these  rebels 
robbed  the  mail ;  they  scoffed  at  the  proclamation  of  the 
Governor  of  the  State  and  also  at  that  of  the  President. 
Aug.  Thus  matters  continued  for  nearly  two  years.  It  shows 
le  the  excitement  which  prevailed,  that  at  one  time  with 
only  three  days'  notice,  there  assembled  on  Braddoek's 
Field  nearly  seven  thousand  armed  men.  They  had  for 
their  motto  "  Liberty  and  no  excise."  The  assemblage 
passed  many  resolutions,  indicating  an  intention  to  resort 
to  further  acts  of  violence. 

This  meeting  was  presided  over  by  Colonel  Edward 
Cook,  one  of  the  judges  of  Fayette  county,  who  had  taken 
an  active  part  in  resisting  the  enforcement  of  the  law.  Its 
secretary  was  Albert  Gallatin,  from  the  same  county,  a 
native  of  Switzerland,  who  had  been  in  the  country  but  a 
few  years  ;  a  young  man  of  superior  education  ;  an  ardent 
sympathizer  with  the  French  school  of  politics  ;  a  violent 
opposer  of  the  excise  law.  He  had  risen  rapidly  in  popu- 
lar favor,  had  been  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  the 
State,  and  also  of  a  Convention  to  amend  its  Constitution. 
Governor  Mifflin  wished  to  try  the  effect  of  a  circular 
addressed  to  the  insurgents,  before  calling  out  the  militia. 
The  circular  was  unheeded.  The  President  issued  a  proc- 
lamation ordering  the  rebels  to  desist  from  their  illegal 
proceedings  ;  at  the  same  time  he  called  out  the  militia, 
who  responded  promptly  to  the  call. 

The  leaders  soon  found  that,  after  all,  the  Federal 


THE   WHISKEY    INSURRECTION — MISSION    TO    ENGLAND.  543 

authority  had  the  power  and  was  determined  to  enforce  CHAR 

the  law.     The  leaders  became  anxious  to  screen  the  people  ! 

from  the  anger  of  the  government,  and  themselves  from 
the  anger  of  the  people. 

Only  when  the  militia,  which  had  crossed  the  moun- 
tains, in  two  divisions,  formed  a  juncture  at  Union  Town, 
did  the  insurgents  submit.  A  few  arrests  were  made  ;  the 
most  active  leaders  had  fled  the  country.  Thus  ended 
"  The  Whiskey  Insurrection."  The  vigor  and  energy  dis- 
played by  the  Federal  government  in  putting  down  the 
insurgents  added  strength  to  its  authority. 

The  belligerents  in  Europe,  though  professing  friend- 
ship, had  but  little  regard  to  the  rights  of  Americans. 
While  France  was  detaining  their  ships  in  her  ports,  Eng- 
land was  issuing  orders  to  her  navy  to  seize  and  detain  all 
vessels  freighted  with  French  goods,  or  laden  with  pro- 
visions for  any  French  colony.  These  measures  would  ruin 
American  commerce.  Congress  passed  a  resolution  which 
forbid  any  trading  vessel  to  leave  an  American  port  for 
sixty  days.  This  was  designed  to  annoy  the  British,  by 
not  furnishing  provisions  for  their  navy, — yet  it  operated 
just  as  much  against  the  French,  through  whose  par- 
ticular friends  the  bill  was  passed. 

A   war  with  England   was    impending.       To    avert 
such  a  calamity,  and  to  arrange  the  difficulties  existing  April, 
between  the  two  countries,  Washington  resolved  to  send  a 
special  ambassador  to  the  Court  of  St.  James. 

To  this  important  mission  he  nominated  the  patriotic 
and  pure-minded  Chief  Justice  Jay.  Jay  was  of  Huguenot 
descent  ;  as  to  his  revolutionary  services  second  only  to 
the  President  himself;  of  the  highest  reputation  as  a 
jurist  ;  his  integrity,  learning  and  disinterestedness  had 
won  him  universal  respect.  In  addition,  there  was  a 
propriety  in  the  selection  that  conciliated  all  minds,  for 
he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  who  had  negotiated  the 


544  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  first  treaty  with  Great  Britain.  It  would  be  a  very  diffi- 

cult  task  to  obtain  all  that  the  American  people  thought 

1V91.  they  had  a  right  to  ask.  There  were  many  assumptions 
of  power  which  England  would  be  unwilling  to  yield.  To 
negotiate  under  such  circumstances  required  much  skill 
and  judgment. 

On  his  arrival  in  England,  Jay  was  treated  with  great 
courtesy  and  respect,  and  a  disposition  was  manifested  to 
amicably  arrange  the  difficulties  which  had  arisen  between 
the  two  countries. 

Both  parties  had  their  complaints  to  make.  The  one, 
that  the  Western  posts  had  not  been  given  up  according 
to  the  treaty  ;  that  their  neutral  rights  were  not  respected  ; 
that  compensation  had  not  been  given  for  the  slaves  car- 
ried off  at  the  close  of  the  war  ;  that  their  merchants 
were  excluded  from  the  West  India  trade,  and  that 
British  sailors,  who  by  adoption  had  become  Americans, 
were  impressed  and  forcibly  taken  out  of  American  ships. 

The  other,  that  debts  contracted  with  English  mer- 
chants prior  to  the  Kevolution  could  not  be  collected ; 
that  the  property  of  Tories  had  not  been  accounted  for.  A 
%L  treaty  was  finally  concluded,  not  such  as  Jay  wished,  nor 
as  justice  demanded,  but  the  best  that  could  be  obtained 
under  the  circumstances. 

The  Western  posts  were  to  be  given  up  in  two  years  ; 
the  West  India  trade  was  granted  on  certain  conditions, 
while  free  admission  was  given  to  British  ports  in  Europe 
and  in  the  East  Indies,  but  no  compensation  could  be  ob- 
tained for  the  negroes.  On  the  other  hand,  provision  was 
made  for  the  collection  of  the  debts  complained  of. 

A  great  clamor  was  raised  against  the  treaty,  which 
was  grossly  misrepresented.  One  party  contended  that 
its  ratification  would  produce  war  with  France,  the  other 
that  its  rejection  would  lead  to  a  war  with  England.  There 
were  stormy  debates  on  the  subject  in  Congress,  and  in 
some  of  the  State  Legislatures.  But  when  the  difficulties 


t 


DEPREDATIONS    ON    COMMERCE — ALGERINE    PIRATES.  545 

that  stood  in  the  way  of  obtaining  more  desirable  con-  CHAP. 

ditions    became  known,   and  when  the  character  of  the  ! 

treaty  itself  was  understood,  the  more  intelligent  and  con-    1V95. 
servative  portion  of  the  people,  were  in  favor  of  accepting   ' 
it.     After  a  fortnight's  debate  in  secret  session  the  Senate 
advised  its  ratification,  and  thus  was  secured  peace  for 
some  years  ;  under  the  circumstances,  a  very  important 
gain. 

Treaties  were  also  negotiated  with  Spain,  in  which  the 
boundaries  between  the  United  States,  Louisiana,  and 
Florida  were  more  definitely  settled.  The  free  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi  was  also  secured  to  both  parties,  and 
the  Americans  were  granted  for  three  years  the  privilege 
of  making  New  Orleans  a  place  of  deposit  for  their  trade. 

American  commerce,  deriving  its  main  resources  in  the 
New  England  States,  had  increased  very  rapidly;  the 
trade  to  the  Mediterranean  was,  however,  much  hindered  by 
depredations  committed  upon  it  by  Algerine  pirates. 
Whether  to  purchase  an  exemption  from  these  annoy- 
ances, as  Europe  had  been  in  the  habit  of,  or  to  send  a  fleet 
and  punish  the  marauders,  was  a  difficult  question  to 
answer.  It  was  thought  better,  for  the  present,  to  re-  jf 
deem  the  American  sailors  held  as  slaves  by  these  bar-  Sept. 
barians.  On  this  occasion  a  bill  was  passed  to  build  six 
frigates  ;  this  was  the  foundation  of  the  Navy  of  the 
United  States.  The  following  year  a  treaty  was  made 
with  the  Dey  of  Algiers,  and  the  captives  released  on  the 
payment  of  a  heavy  ransom — nearly  a  million  of  dollars 
were  paid  for  this  purpose.  This  money  expended  in 
fitting  out  an  armament,  and  thoroughly  chastising  the 
pirates,  would  have  been  better  policy, — as  was  proved 
some  years  afterwards. 

Three  more  States — Vermont,  Kentucky,  and   Ten-    1796. 
nessee — were  admitted  into  the  Union  during  the  adminis- 
tration. 

As  Washington  was  unwilling  tjiserve  another  term, 
35 


546  HISTOKY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


the  two  parties  arrayed  their  forces  for  a  trial  of  strength. 
-  !  The  Federalists  nominated  John  Adams  for  President  anil 
1V96.    the  ^Republicans  Thomas  Jefferson.      The   parties  were 
very  nearly  equally  divided.     Adams  received  two  more 
1797.    votes   than   Jefferson,   and  was   declared   to   be   elected 
President,  and  the  latter  Vice-President. 

Before  retiring  from  public  life  Washington  published 
a  farewell  address  to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
They  responded  to  it  with  respect  and  affection  ;  the  out- 
burst of  a  nation's  gratitude.  It  was  a  truly  paternal  ad- 
dress, warning  the  nation  against  party  strife  and  sectional 
jealousies,  advising  the  policy  of  impartial  neutrality 
toward  other  nations  when  at  war  with  each  other,  and  as 
a  safeguard  to  liberty,  the  preservation  of  the  Union  and 
the  Constitution. 

Thus  ended  the  eight  years  of  Washington's  adminis- 
tration. When  it  commenced  all  was  unsettled.  Now 
the  government  was  established.  In  that  short  time  it 
had  been  severely  tested. 

The  general  policy  of  his  administration  became  the 
fixed  policy  of  the  government  of  the  United  States.  The 
*  most  enduring  monument  of  his  integrity  and  wisdom  ; 
of  his  patriotic  and  Christian  principles.  Strange  as  it 
may  seem,  the  annals  of  unscrupulous  political  warfare 
do  not  furnish  a  parallel  to  the  scurrilous  slanders  that 
were  heaped  upon  him,  not  only  during  his  administration, 
but  at  its  close.  Such  were  the  disreputable  means  used 
to'induce  the  United  States  to  become  the  ally  of  France, 
and  to  join  in  a  war  against  the  hated  England. 


I 


*&* 

CHAPTEK    XL. 

JOHN  ADAMS'   ADMINISTRATION. 

Serious  Aspect  of  Kelations  with  France. — Commissioners  of  Peace. — The 
French  Cruisers. — The  Alien  Act. — War  impending. — Washington, 
Commander-in-Chief. — Capture  of  the  Frigate  L'Insurgente. — Peace 
concluded. — Death  of  Washington. — Eulogiums  on  his  Character. — 
The  city  of  Washington  becomes  the  Seat  of  Government. 

THE  policy  of  the  new  administration  was  like  that  of 

the  preceding,  the  cabinet  officers  of  which  were  retained.  

The  new  President  was  not  more  influenced  by  love  for  1797. 
England  than  by  admiration  for  France.  He  had  no  ex- 
pectation that  the  latter  country  would  establish  a  gov- 
ernment upon  just  and  righteous  principles.  He  expressed 
a  "  determination  to  maintain  peace  and  inviolate  faith 
with  all  nations,  and  neutrality  and  impartiality  with  the 
belligerent  powers  of  Europe." 

In  the  mean  time  relations  with  France  assumed  a 
serious  aspect.  Nothing  would  satisfy  that  power  but  a 
willingness  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to  be  used 
as  a  dependent.  While  the  French  partisans  were  clam- 
oring for  such  an  alliance,  the  Directory  exhibited  their 
good  will  by  issuing  orders  to  seize  and  retain  all  Ameri- 
can vessels  having  on  board  English  manufactured  goods. 

Washington  had  recalled  Monroe  from  the  French 
Mission,  and  in  his  place  sent  Charles  C.  Pinckney.  The 
latter  sent  his  credentials  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  but  a  few  days  after  Monroe  was  notified  that  a 


548  HISTOKY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  minister  would  not  be  received  from  the  United  States 

JLJUa 

, until  grievances  were  redressed  ;  but  Monroe  himself  was 

1797.  complimented  for  his  devotion  to  the  French  cause  ;  un- 
der the  circumstances,  a  compliment  somewhat  equivocal. 
Pinckney  was  treated  with  studied  neglect,  bordering 
on  insult  ;  finally  he  demanded  his  passports  and  depart- 
ed for  Holland.  During  this  time  French  privateers  and 
cruisers  were  capturing  American  merchantmen  and  treat- 
ing their  crews  as  prisoners  of  war.  Some  of  the  priva- 
teers were  commanded  by  renegade  Americans,  who 
gloried  in  sailing  under  the  colors  of  the  "  Great  Bepublic." 
France  also  stimulated  Holland  and  Spain  to  complain 
of  the  partiality  of  Jay's  treaty  with  Great  Britain  ;  and 
was  also  suspected  of  an  intention  to  rob  Spain  of  Louisi- 
ana and  Florida.  With  overpowering  successes,  and  un- 
scrupulous political  morals,  she  was  making  rapid  strides 
toward  becoming  the  great  power  of  the  world. 

Still  more  alarming  was  the  fact  that  there  existed  in 
the  United  States  a  large  party  that  opposed  the  neutral 
policy  of  the  government,  and  openly  favored  an  alliance 
with  the  "Terrible  Kepublic." 

May.  The  President  called  a  special  session  of  Congress,  and 
laid  before  it  a  statement  of  the  relations  with  France. 
When  it  became  known  that  in  their  representative  the 
United  States  had  been  deliberately  insulted  ;  and  that 
'French  aggressions  on  American  commerce  were  increas- 
ing, the  enthusiasm  of  the  partisans  of  France  somewhat 
declined. 

Two  special  commissioners  were  appointed  to  proceed 
to  Paris,  and,  if  possible,  adjust  the  existing  difficulties. 
John  Marshall  and  Elbridge  Gerry  were  selected  for  this 
mission.     The  former,  who  was  a  Federalist,  became  after- 
ward Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  ;  the  latter,  a  1 
Republican   in   sentiment,    one   of   the   signers    of  the  | 
Declaration   of  Independence,   became   afterward   Yice- 
President.     They  were  authorized  to  conclude  a  treaty  ; 


i 


TALLEYKAND    AND    THE   AMERICAN    ENVOYS.  549 

one  that  should  not  conflict  with  treaties  existing  with  CHAP. 

other  nations  ;  and  to  insist  upon  the  right  of  the  United  L_ 

States  to  remain  neutral.  1798. 

The  envoys  joined  Pinckney  in  Paris,  and  imme- 
diately made  known  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
the  object  of  their  mission.  This  minister  was  no  less  a 
personage  than  the  celebrated  Talleyrand,  who  some  years 
before  had  been  an  exile  in  the  United  States,  where, 
not  receiving  the  attention  which  he  thought  he  deserved, 
had  returned  home  in  no  very  complacent  humor.  At 
first  he  refused  an  audience  to  the  commissioners,  but 
soon  after  sent  irresponsible  persons  to  make  them  propo- 
sitions, which,  if  found  convenient,  he  could  easily  disa- 
vow. Thus  for  several  months  they  were  the  victims  of 
diplomatic  trickery. 

Meanwhile  French  cruisers  captured  American  vessels, 
and  French  courts  confiscated  their  cargoes,  and  imprison- 
ed their  crews.  Finally  the  commissioners  were  given  to 
understand,  if  they  would  advance  a  little  money  for  the 
special  benefit  of  Talleyrand  and  his  worthy  friends,  and 
also  pledge  the  United  States  to  make  France  a  loan,  that 
negotiations  would  be  commenced  in  earnest.  This 
proposition  was  indignantly  refused.  Marshall  and  Pinck- 
ney were  immediately  ordered  to  leave  the  country,  and 
Gerry,  whose  party  at  home  sympathized  with  France, 
was  invited  to  remain  and  negotiate  a  treaty.  It  was  by 
such  insults  and  injuries,  that  France  hoped  to  intimi- 
date the  United  States,  and  make  them  as  dependent  on 
her  boasted  magnanimity,  as  she  had  already  made  Spain. 
The  disrespect  offered  the  commissioners  excited  great  in- 
dignation in  the  minds  of  the  American  people.  Strange 
as  it  may  seem,  the  opposition  insisted  that  France  was 
not  to  blame,  but  their  own  government,  in  faithfully  en- 
forcing its  policy  of  neutrality.  At  length  the  corre- 
spondence between  Talleyrand's  agents  and  the  commis- 
sioners was  published.  The  Frenclyparty  offered  no  more 


550  HISTOKY    OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CXLP*  aP0l°Sies-     The  spirit  of  the  insulted  people  was  aroused. 

The  reply  of  Pinckney  to  the  corrupt  emissaries  of  Tal- 

1798.  leyrand — "  Millions  for  defence,  not  one  cent  for  tribute/' 
was  echoed  throughout  the  land.  Addresses  to  the  Presi- 
dent, approving  his  measures,  began  to  pour  in  from  all 
parts  of  the  nation.  The  French  party  soon  dwindled  to 
a  small  minority.  The  only  hope  Jefferson  cherished  was 
that  Congress  would  adjourn.  "To  separate  Congress 
now,"  wrote  he,  "  will  be  withdrawing  the  fire  from  a  boiling 
pot." 

A  large  number  of  French  exiles — it  was  thought 
nearly  thirty  thousand — were,  at  this  time,  in  the  country. 
Some  of  these  acted  as  spies,  at  least  so  thought  the  gov- 
ernment ;  some  had  tampered  with  the  people  of  Ken- 
tucky to  induce  them  to  join  in  an  expedition  against 
Louisiana,  then  belonging  to  Spain,  and  some  planned  a 
similar  expedition  against  Florida.  Thus  did  they  abuse 
the  hospitality  tendered  them  by  endeavoring  to  create 
divisions  among  the  people,  and  opposition  to  the  policy 
of  the  government. 

Under  these  circumstances  Congress  passed  what  was 
termed  the  "  Alien  Act,"  to  continue  in  force  two  years, 

July,  by  which  the  President  was  authorized  to  order  out  of  the 
country  aliens,  who,  by  their  plots  might  endanger  the 
interests  of  the  government  in  case  of  war.  The  law  was 
•ever  enforced,  but  nevertheless  a  large  number  of  these 
exiles  left  the  country. 

Presently  Marshall  returned,  and  confirmed  all  that 
had  been  reported  of  the  demands  of  the  French  Kepub- 
lic.  The  President  sent  in  a  message  to  Congress,  which 
contained  a  statement  of  the  embarrassing  relations  exist- 
ing between  the  two  countries.  Preparations  were  made 
for  war.  It  was  resolved  to  raise  and  equip  an  army  ;  to 
fortify  important  posts  on  the  sea-coast  ;  to  prepare  a 
naval  armament,  and  to  capture  French  armed  vessels, 
but  not  to  molest  merchantmen. 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  PEACE — THE  TREATY.          551 

The   people   came   forward  with    alacrity   to  assist.  CHAP. 

Money  was  subscribed  liberally,  especially  in  the  seaboard  L. 

towns,  to  equip  a  navy.     The  frigates  so  long  building    1V98. 
were  just  finished ;    and   the    Constitution,  the    United 
States,  and  the  Constellation,  the  germ  of  our  present  navy, 
were  fitted  for  sea. 

Washington  was  nominated  as  Lieutenant-G-eneral 
and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army — a  nomination 
unanimously  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  He  heartily  ap- 
proved the  measures  of  the  President,  and  condemned 
those  of  France,  saying  that  the  administration  ought  to 
inspire  universal  satisfaction,  and  added,  "  we  can  with  pure 
hearts  appeal  to  Heaven  for  the  justice  of  our  cause,  and 
may  trust  the  final  result  to  that  kind  Providence  which 
has  hitherto  and  so  often  signally  favored  the  people  of 
the  United  States." 

When  it  was  seen  that  the  United  States  would  not 
submit  to  insult,  but  were  preparing  to  repel  it  by  force, 
the  Directory  made  overtures  for  peace.  This  intimation 
came  from  Murray,  the  American  Minister  at  Holland,  to 
whom  Talleyrand  had  communicated  the  proposition. 
The  President  accordingly  nominated  two  commissioners, 
Oliver  Ellsworth  and  W.  K.  Davie,  who  were  to  join  Mur- 
ray in  Paris. 

President  Adams  took  the  ground  that  they  should 
not  enter  France,  unless  assurance  was  given  that  they 
would  be  received  in  a  "  manner  befitting  the  Commission- 
ers of  an  independent  nation." 

On  their  arrival  in  France  they  found  Bonaparte  at 
the  head  of  affairs,  and  the  cunning  and  politic  Talley- 
rand still  in  office.  Negotiations  commenced,  and  in  due 
time  a  treaty  was  concluded,  which  in  its  provisions  ad- 
justed nearly  all  the  matters  of  dispute.  Sept. 

The  fleet  which  had  been  fitted  out  to  protect  Ameri- 
can commerce  from  French,  depredations  had  not  been 
idle.  More  than  three  hundred  private  vessels  had  been 


552  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

°XLP'  licensed  to  canT  arnis  an(i  to  defend  themselves  from  the 

common  enemy.     But  the  incident  which  gave  the  great- 

1799.  est  satisfaction  to  the  country  was  the  capture  of  the 
French  %igate  I/Insurgente,  by  the  Constellation,  under 
Feb.  Captain  Truxton.  The  two  vessels  were  about  equal  in 
their  complement  of  men  and  guns.  After  a  severe  con- 
test of  an  hour  and  a  quarter,  the  I/Insurgente  struck 
her  colors,  having  lost  in  men  twenty  to  one  of  her  an- 
tagonist. This  was  the  first  time  that  an  American 
armed  vessel  had  met  one  of  another  nation  on  equal 
terms.  As  a  presage  of  future  triumphs  it  was  most 
grateful  to  the  people. 

*  Ere  long  intelligence  came  of  the  conclusion  of  peace. 
The  army  was  disbanded,  but  the  defences  along  the  coast 
were  still  maintained,  and  also  it  was  resolved  to  keep  the 
navy  afloat. 

But  before  it  was  known  in  America  that  the  Com- 
.missioners  of  peace  had  been  kindly  received,  an  event  oc- 
curred which  cast  a  gloom  over  the  nation,  and  for  a  season 
silenced  the  clamors  of  party  spirit — the  death  of  Wash- 
ington. In  riding  about  his  farm  he  was  exposed  to  a 
cold  rain.  The  following  morning  he  complained  of  a  sore 
throat,  an  inflammation  of  the  windpipe  followed,  which 
speedily  produced  death.  With  calm  resignation  he  ex- 
Dec,  pressed  his  willingness  to  die. 

A  joint  committee  of  both  Houses  of  Congress  reported 
resolutions  recommending  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  out  of  respect  for  his  memory,  to  wear  badges  of 
mourning  for  thirty  days,  and  also  that  his  approaching 
birth-day  be  celebrated  "  by  suitable  eulogies,  orations, 
and  discourses,  or  by  public  prayers."  Thus  did  the 
people  honor  him  "  who  was  first  in  war,  first  in  peace, 
and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen." 

The  oration  before  both  houses  of  Congress,  was  pro- 
nounced by  Colonel  Henry  Lee,  whom  we  have  seen  as 
the  intimate  though  youthful  friend  of  Washington.  In 


DEATH    OF    WASHINGTON.  553 

accordance  with  the  above  recommendation,  his  birth-day  CHAP. 

was  celebrated  throughout  the  land ;  the  most  eminent 

in  the  nation  delighted  to  honor  his  memory.  Nor  was  1799. 
his  name  honored  only  in  his  native  land.  When  the 
news  reached  Europe  it  elicited  emotions  of  sadness  and 
tokens  of  respect.  The  great  British  fleet  of  sixty  ships 
of  the  line,  under  the  command  of  Lord  Bridport,  and  at 
the  time  lying  in  the  English  channel,  lowered  their  flags 
to  half  mast.  In  his  orders  of  the  day  to  the  French 
army,  Bonaparte,  then  First  Consul  of  France,  paid  a 
tribute  to  his  memory,  and  afterward  caused  a  funeral 
oration  to  be  delivered  before  the  civil  and  military,  au- 
thorities, and  the  standards  of  the  army  to  be  draped  in 
mourning  for  ten  days. 

Such  were  the  public  tokens  of  respect.  But  he  had 
a  higher  honor — a  place  in  the  affections  of  the  good  and 
humane  in  private  life  more  than  any  man  of  any  age  ; 
he  never  received  an  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people,  or  at 
the  hands  of  their  representatives,  that  was  not  unani- 
mously given.  To  him  alone  has  gone  forth  that  heartfelt 
respect,  that  reverence  and  gratitude  which  can  be  embodied 
only  in  the  endearing  title,  the  FATHER  OF  HIS  COUNTRY. 

Says  an  eminent  British  statesman  and  scholar,  (Lord 
John  Kussell,)  "  To  George  Washington  nearly  alone  in 
modern  times  has  it  been  given  to  accomplish  a  wonder- 
ful revolution,  and  yet  to  remain  to  all  future  times  the 
theme  of  a  people's  gratitude,  and  an  example  of  virtuous 
and  beneficent  power/'  "  His  intellectual,  like  his  moral 
qualities,  were  never  brought  out  to  display  his  own  talent 
or  enhance  his  own  glory.  They  were  forthcoming  as  oc- 
casion required,  or  the  voice  of  the  country  called  for 
them ;  largeness  of  combination,  quickness  of  decision, 
fortitude  in  adversity,  sympathy  with  his  officers,  the 
burst  of  impetuous  courage,  were  the  natural  emanations 
of  this  great  and  magnanimous  soul."  l 

1  Life  and  Times  of  James  Fox,  Vol.  1,  pp.  366  and  254 


554  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


C  XLP*         "^ke  administration  of  Adams,  now  drawing  to  its  close, 

-  was  in  its  policy  like  that  of  Washington.     During  these 

1*T99.    twelve  y^ars,  there  was  much  opposition,  but  that  policy 

in  the  main  has  remained  unchanged  from  that  day  to 

this.     To  be  free  from  the  turmoil  of  European  politics  was 

wisdom,  but  to  carry  it  out  required  the  calm  determina- 

tion of  Washington,  as  well  as  the  impulsive  energy  of 

Adams,  "  who  was  not  the  man  to  quail  "  when  he  thought 

duty  called. 

During  the  summer  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Govern- 

1800.  ment  was  removed  to  the  City  of  Washington,  then  "  a 
little  village  in  the  midst  of  the  woods,"  in  the  District 
of  Columbia. 

The  struggle  for  political  power  was  renewed  with 
great  vigor,  and  in  the  bitterness  of  party  spirit.  The 
Federalists  nominated  Adams  and  Charles  C.  Pinckney  for 
President,  while  the  Eepublicans  nominated  for  the  same 
office,  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Aaron  Burr.  When  the 
electors  came  to  cast  their  votes  it  was  found  that  Adams 
had  sixty-five,  Pinckney  sixty-four,  and  Jefferson  and 
Burr  had  each  seventy-three.  In  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  Constitution,  it  became  necessary  for  the 
House  of  Kepresentatives  to  make  the  choice.  After 

1801.  thirty-six  ballotings,  during   seven  days,   Jefferson  was 
17/    chosen  President,  and  Burr  Vice-President. 


m 


CHAPTEK    XLI. 

JEFFERSON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

The  President's  Inaugural. — Purchase  of  Louisiana. — The  Pirates  of  the 
Mediterranean. — Captain  Bainbridge. — The  Burning  of  the  Philadel- 
phia.— Tripoli  Bombarded. — Death  of  Hamilton. — Aaron  Burr. — Oppo- 
sition to  the  Navy. — Gunboats. — Right  of  Neutrals  infringed  upon. — 
The  unjust  Decrees  issued  by  England  and  France. — American  Mer- 
chants demand  the  Right  to  defend  themselves. — Impressment  of 
American  Seamen. — Treaty  with  England  rejected  by  the  President. — 
Affair  of  the  Chesapeake. — The  Embargo ;  its  effect. — Public  fueling  on 
the  subject. — Manufactures. — Embargo  repealed. 

ON  entering  upon  office  Jefferson  found  the  country  in  a  CHAP. 
prosperous  condition.  The  revenue  was  abundant  for 
current  expenses  ;  the  stability  of  the  government  had  in- 
spired  the  industrial  interests  with  confidence,  commerce 
had  increased  beyond  all  precedent,  and  was  pressing  on 
to  still  higher  triumphs. 

The  prospect  of  a  general  peace  in  Europe  also  gave  as- 
surance that  American  ships  would  no  longer  be  subjected 
to  unlawful  seizures  under  the  pretense  that  they  carried 
cargoes  contraband  of  war.  The  census  just  taken  had 
shown  the  population  to  be,  within  a  few  hundreds,  double 
what  it  was  at  the  commencement  of  the  revolution.  The 
total  population  being  5,319,762.  The  number  of  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Kepresentatives  was  141. 

The  new  President  professed  to  deprecate  party  spirit : 
and  wished  to  be  recognized  as  a  "  moderate  republican/' 
proclaiming  as  "  brethren  of  the  same  principles,  we  are 


556  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

°XLiP'  ca^e(^  ky  different  names,  we  are  all  Republicans,  we  are 
all  Federalists."     But  in  a  very  short  time  he  began  to 

1802.  remove  those  from  office,  who  were  not  of  his  own  political 
opinions.     The  bitterness  of  party  spirit  was  not  allaved 
by  this  policy. 

Immigrants  had  been  pouring  into  the  region  North- 
west of  the  Ohio.  In  one  year  twenty  thousand  persons 
had  passed  into  that  territory  to  find  homes.  The  people 
of  the  eastern  portion,  presented  themselves  at  the  door 
of  Congress,  asking  permission  to  be  admitted  as  a  State. 
The  request  was  granted,  and  the  State  of  Ohio,  with  a 
population  of  seventy  thousand,  became  a  member  of  the 
April.  Union. 

The  Spanish  Governor  of  Louisiana,  in  violation  of  an 
existing  treaty — that  of  1795 — refused  permission  to  the 
traders  on  the  Mississippi  to  deposit  their  produce  at  New 
Orleans.  This  act,  so  injurious  to  their  commerce,  caused 
a  great  commotion  among  the  people  beyond  the  moun- 
tains. The  government  was  called  upon  to  redress  these 
grievances  ;  the  Western  people  must  have  the  privilege 
of  freely  navigating  the  Mississippi,  or  they  would  seize 
New  Orleans,  and  drive  the  Spaniards  from  the  territory. 
At  this  crisis  intimations  came  from  Paris  that  Spain,  by 
a  secret  treaty,  had  ceded  Louisiana  to  France.  Bona- 
parte's vision  of  restoring  the  French  power  on  this  con- 
tinent had  become  somewhat  dim,  especially  as  the  over- 
powering fleet  of  Great  Britain  would  seize  and  occupy 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  whenever  it  was  known  to 
belong  to  France.  To  avoid  this  contingency,  he  was 
willing  to  sell  the  entire  territory  of  Louisiana  to  the 
United  States.  Accordingly  Robert  E.  Livingston, 
American  Minister  at  Paris,  commenced  negotiations, 
which  resulted  in  the  purchase  of  that  region  for  fifteen 

1803.  millions  of  dollars.     The  rights  and  privileges  of  Ameri- 
30.     can  citizens  were  guaranteed  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 

purchased  territory. 


f 


ALGERINE    PIRATES BAINBRIDGE.  557 

When  the  sale  was  completed,  Bonaparte  is  said  to  CHAP. 

have  .exclaimed  : — "  This  accession  of  territory  strengthens  L 

forever  the   power  of  the   United   States  ; — I  have  just    1800. 
given  to  England  a  maritime  rival  that  will  sooner  or  later 
humble  her  pride." 

In  the  midst  of  the  turmoil  of  wars  in  Europe,  the 
pirates  of  the  Mediterranean  had  renewed  their  depreda-  Sept. 
tions  upon  American  commerce.  Captain  Bainbridge  in 
command  of  the  frigate  George  Washington  was  sent  to 
Algiers  with  the  usual  tribute.  The  Dey  ordered  him  to 
carry  some  presents  and  his  ambassador  to  Constantinople. 
Bainbridge  at  first  refused.  The  Dey  was  highly  indignant, 
"  You  pay  me  tribute/'  said  he,  "  by  which  you  become 
my  slaves,  and  therefore  I  have  the  right  to  order  you  as  I 
think  proper."  However,  as  he  was  exposed  to  the  guns 
of  the  castle  and  batteries,  and  learning  that  English, 
French,  and  Spanish  ships  of  war  had  submitted  to  similar 
impositions,  Bainbridge  thought  it  more  prudent  to  com- 
ply with  the  arrogant  demand,  hoping  at  some  future  time 
to  avenge  the  indignity  thus  offered  his  country's  flag.  In 
closing  his  report  to  the  Navy  Department,  he  wrote,  "  I 
hope  I  will  never  again  be  sent  to  Algiers  with  tribute  unless 
I  am  authorized  to  deliver  it  from  the  mouth  of  our  cannon." 

As  these  depredations  continued,  and,  while  the  tribute 
became  more  and  more  onerous,  a  squadron,  under  Com- 
modore Preble,  was  sent  to  capture  the  pirates  and  block- 
ade the  harbor  of  Tripoli.  The  frigate  Philadelphia, 
commanded  by  Bainbridge,  when  chasing  an  Algerine 
cruiser,  ran  upon  a  sunken  rock  near  the  shore.  While 
thus  disabled,  Tripolitan  gun-boats  captured  her  after  a 
contest,  which  lasted  an  entire  day.  Bainbridge  and  his 
crew  of  three  hundred  men,  were  made  prisoners,  and 
treated  as  slaves,  for  whom  an  exorbitant  ransom  was  de- 
manded. 

Finding  means,  however,  to  communicate  with  the 
American  squadron,  he  suggested  the  possibility  of  burn- 


f 


558  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


*n^>  *^e  Philadelphia,  as  sne  Ia7  moored  under  the  guns 
of  the  castle.  Lieutenant  Decatur  volunteered  to  act  on 

1804.  the  suggestion.  A  small  Tripolitan  trader  had  been  cap- 
tured a  few  days  before.  This  vessel,  now  named  the 
Intrepid,  was  selected  for  the  enterprise.  With  a  crew 
of  seventy-six  chosen  men  —  all  volunteers  —  Decatur  sail- 
ed on  his  perilous  undertaking.  Combustibles  were  pre- 
pared in  bundles,  and  to  each  man  was  assigned  his  par- 
ticular duty. 

1804.  Passing  into  the  harbor,  they  approached  the  Phila- 
delphia about  midnight.  When  hailed,  the  interpreter 
answered  they  were  traders,  who  had  lost  their  anchor  in 
the  late  gale,  and  begged  permission  to  make  fast  to  the 
frigate  till  morning.  The  request  was  granted,  and  the 
Intrepid  slipped  alongside.  Suddenly  the  Turks  noticed 
that  she  had  her  anchors,  and  gave  the  alarm,  shouting 

Feb.    "Americanos."     In  a  moment  more.   Decatur   and  his 

1  A 

brave  companions  clambered  up  one  side  of  the  vessel, 
while  the  panic-stricken  Turks,  after  slight  resistance,  as 
rapidly  passed  over  the  other  into  the  water.  The  fag- 
gots were  handed  up,  and  carried  to  every  part  of  the 
ship,  and  in  thirty  minutes  she  was  on  fire  from  stem  to 
stern.  So  dry  had  the  vessel  and  the  rigging  become  in 
that  warm  climate,  that  with  difficulty  the  Americans 
escaped  the  flames.  When  clear  of  the  frigate  cheers  of 
triumph  told  that  the  daring  attempt  had  been  success- 
ful. The  flames  soon  lighted  up  the  harbor  ;  the  castle 
opened  with  its  guns  upon  the  Intrepid,  which,  urged  on 
by  the  rowers,  was  rapidly  passing  out  of  danger.  Soon 
the  guns  of  the  burning  frigate  began  to  explode  and 
throw  their  shot  in  all  directions.  This  was  one  of  the 
boldest  enterprises  ever  undertaken  by  our  naval  heroes. 

The  squadron  continued  to  blockade  the  harbor  of 
Tripoli,  and  during  the  following  summer  bombarded  the 
town.  The  contest  was  severe,  and  there  was  much  hand- 
to-hand  fighting  on  board  gun-boats.  Intelligence  came 


% 

HAMILTON — BURR.  559 

that  other  vessels  were  on  their  way,  and  a  further  attack  CHAP. 

was  postponed.     Before  the  arrival  of  this  reinforcement  L 

the  Bashaw  came  to  terms,  and  desired  to  make  peace  ;  1804. 
other  causes  aided  in  hastening  tnis  event.  He  had 
driven  his  elder  brother,  Hamet,  into  exile,  and  usurped 
his  throne.  Captain  William  Eaton,  American  Consul 
at  Tunis,  concerted  measures  with  the  exiled  brother  to 
drive  the  usurper  from  Tripoli.  With  four  hundred  troops, 
only  nine  of  whom  were  Americans,  Eaton  and  Hamet 
marched  a  thousand  miles  across  the  Libyan  desert,  and 
suddenly  appeared  before  Derne,  which  place,  with  the  aid 
of  the  American  fleet,  they  captured  in  a  few  days.  The 
Bashaw  sent  troops  against  the  invaders  ;  these  troops 
were  also  defeated,  then  to  save  himself  he  made  proposals 
to  negotiate.  Peace  was  concluded  by  Lear,  the  American  1805. 
consul  at  Tripoli,  but  not  on  as  favorable  terms  as  justice  JgDe 
demanded.  After  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  man  for  man, 
there  still  remained  two  hundred  Americans  ;  for  these  a 
heavy  ransom  was  paid.  Thus  conceding  the  point  in 
dispute,  that  the  Bashaw  had  a  right  to  receive  ransoms 
for  prisoners  taken  by  his  pirates. 

Jefferson  was  re-elected  President,  and,  instead  of 
Burr,  George  Clinton,  of  New  York,  Vice-President. 
Burr's  intrigues  had  become  known  to  both  parties,  and 
he  experienced  the  just  fate  of  the  insincere — he  was  sus- 
pected by  all,  and  trusted  by  none.  Kejected  by  his  own 
State,  his  political  prospects  ruined,  and  overwhelmed  by 
debts,  the  result  of  unsuccessful  speculations,  his  cold  and 
unrelenting  spirit  panted  for  revenge.  He  looked  upon 
the  influence  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  as  one  cause  of  his 
political  failure.  To  retrieve  his  political  fortunes  Burr 
was  willing  to  risk  his  own  life,  if  he  could  but  kill  the 
man  whose  patriotism  and  integrity  he  well  knew,  and 
whose  influence  he  dreaded.  He  laid  his  plans  to  force 
Hamilton  into  a  duel.  They  met  on  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson,  opposite  New  York,  Hamilton  previously  de-  1805. 


560  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

claring  that  to  fight  a  duel  was  contrary  to  his  judgment 
and  his  sense  of  moral  duty  ;  that  he  wished  Burr  no  ill, 
1804.    and  should  make  no  effort  to  injure  him.     Burr  took  de- 
liberate aim,  and  Hamilton  was  mortally  wounded  ;  as  he 
fell  his  own  pistol  went  off  accidentally.     When  thirsur- 
July    geon   approached  he   said,    "  Doctor,   this  is   a   mortal 
"•      wound."     In  twenty-four  hour|  he  was  no  more.     Thus 
fell  one  of  the  brightest  intellects,  and  purest,  self-sac- 
rificing patriots  of  the  country — a  victim  to  an  unchristian 
custom,  the  relic  of  a  barbarous  age.     His  loss  to  the 
country  was  second  only  to  that  of  Washington. 

The  most  imposing  funeral  ceremony  the  city  ever 
saw  revealed  the  depth  of  feeling  in  the  public  mind. 
Presently  the  correspondence  between  the  parties  was 
published  ;  this  made  known  the  designing  manner  in 
which  Hamilton  had  been  entrapped,  and  the  disclosure 
produced  in  the  public  mind  still  greater  indignation 
against  Burr.  The  coroner's  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of 
wilful  murder  against  him.  Fearful  of  violence  he  was 
fain  to  conceal  himself  for  a  few  days  in  New  York,  and 
then  to  flee  to  Philadelphia,  and  finally  to  Georgia,  until, 
as  he  expressed  it,  "  the  storm  would  blow  over."  #  > ' 
.  i*t  The  sacrifice  of  a  man  so  eminent,  merely  to  appease 
the  honor  of  a  consummate  villain,  turned  the  minds  of 
the  people  more  directly  to  the  moral  turpitude,  as  well 
as  the  absurdity  of  the  custom  of  duelling.  Public  opinion 
on  this  subject  became,  henceforth,  embodied  in  laws, 
which  banished  the  custom  from  some  of  the  States,  and 
will,  it  may  be  hoped,  eventually  banish  it  from  all  the 
others.  ' 

The  remaining  history  of  Aaron  Burr  may  be  told  in 
a  few  words.  His  intriguing  and  restless  nature  impelled 
him  to  other  enterprises.  The  year  following  the  death 
of  Hamilton  he  went  west.  That  section  of  the  country 
contained  many  turbulent  spirits,  and  had,  moreover, 
manifested  much  dissatisfaction  with  the  General  Govern- 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    MOVEMENTS    OF    BURR  -  HIS    DEATH.  561 

ment.     It  was  thought  Burr  had  some  designs  for  his  own  CHAP- 
aggrandizement  ;  either  to  seize  upon  New  Orleans  and 


draw  off  the  people  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  from  1805 
their  allegiance  to  the  Union,  or  to  make  a  foray  into 
Mexico,  overturn  the  existing  government,  and  put  him- 
self at  the  head  of  the  one  he  should  establish.  His  mys- 
terious movements  from^place  to  place,  and  the  hints 
concerning  his  projects,  which  he  threw  out  to  those 
whom  he  wished  to  enlist,  excited  the  suspicion  of  the 
federal  government.  After  being  permitted  to  plan  and 
counter-plan  for  a  year  or  more,  he  was  finally  arrested 
and  brought  to  trial.  But  so  cunningly  had  he  managed 
the  affair,  that  no  decisive  proof  could  be  obtained  of  his 
designs.  After  a  prolonged  trial,  he  was  acquitted  of  the 
charge  of  treason  against  the  United  States.  1^°^ 

Though  acquitted  by  the  jury,  public  opinion  treat- 
ed him  as  guilty.  Turned  upon  the  world  a  penniless 
wanderer,  suspected  everywhere,  even  in  foreign  lands, 
where  he  lived  in  the  greatest  poverty,  a  pensioner  upon 
the  pittance  doled  out  by  a  few  friends.  Ordered  out  of 
England  as  a  French  spy,  and  treated  in  France  as  a 
British  emissary  ;  finally,  he  returned  home,  to  find  his 
family  ties  all  broken,  his  daughter,  an  only  and  beloved 
child,  having,  under  trying  circumstances,  recently  perish- 
ed at  sea. 

He  made  no  advances  to  renew  former  friendships  or 
acquaintance,  and  would  gladly  have  shunned  the  public 
gaze,  but  he  was  compelled  in  his  old  age  to  resume  the 
practice  of  the  law  as  a  means  of  support.  With  a  ban 
resting  upon  him,  he  went  down  in  loneliness*  to  the 
grave,  in  his  eighty-first  year  —  a  melancholy  instance  of  1836 
prostituted  talents. 

The  country  continued   to  be  very  prosperous  ;    the 
public  expences   were  lessened,   and   the   finances   were 
leaving  every  year  an  increasing  surplus  ;  the  belligerents 
36 


*  * 


-562  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

°xijP'  m  -^ur°Pe  h^  n°t  ve*  interfered  much  with  American 

commerce,  the  great  source  of  the  federal  revenue.     The 

1805.    facilities   for  making  money  exchanges  afforded  bythe 
banks  had  a  beneficial  effect  upon  the  internal  trade  of 
the  country.     The  exportation  of  domestic  produce  had 
-,    tripled  in  value  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution, 
amounting  to  forty-two  millions.    There  was  also  a  rapidly- 
increasing,  and  immensely  profitable  trade  in  the  import 
.and   export   of  foreign  merchandise,  exclusively  for  the 
supply  of  foreign  nations.     Internal  improvements  were 
not  overlooked,  and  companies  were  formed  for  the  con- 
struction of  roads  and  bridges,  and  others  for  insurance. 

Washington  and  Adams,  in  their  administrations, 
both  endeavored  to  place  the  force  of  the  country  on  a 
footing  to  command  the  respect  of  other  nations.  Hence 
they  strongly  urged  the  creation  of  a  navy  to  protect 
American  commerce,  and  the  policy  of  fortifying  impor- 
tant places  along  the  coast.  But  Jefferson  looked  upon 
this  as  a  useless  expense.  He  would  prefer  to  have  the 
public  ships  hauled  out  of  harm's  way  into  harbors  ;  in- 
stead of  prosecuting  trade  upon  the  ocean,  where  a  cruiser 
of  one  of  the  belligerents  might  occasionally  search  a  ves- 
'  sel  for  goods  contraband  of  war,  he  would  lay  an  embargo, 
and  cut  off  all  trade.  Harbor  fortifications  were  subjected 
to  the  same  policy,  falsely  named  economical ;  gun-boats 
were  to  take  the  place  of  other  defences.  Even  the  frames 
of  the  six  ships  of  the  line,  commenced  by  the  previous 
administration,  were  cut  up  to  make  gun -boats. 

For  more  than  six  years  not  a  single  vessel  was  added 
to  the  nHvy,  though  there  were  indications  that  war  might 
speedily  occur.  The  hostility  in  Congress  to  that  branch 
of  the  service  was  confined  principally  to  the  southern 
members.  It  was  avowed  that  in  case  of  war  it  would  be 
good  policy  to  abandon  the  harbors  and  sea-coast,  and 
retire  into  the  interior  ;  that  it  would  be  better  to  give 
up  commerce  altogether  than  protect  it  by  a  navy. 


» 

ENGLISH    AND    FRENCH    DECREES.  563 

jdHMte 
The  war  between  France  and  England  had  driven  CHAP. 

from  the  ocean  all  the  merchant  vessels  of  those  nations. 

This  trade  passed  into  the  hands  of  neutrals,  the  United    1806. 
States  securing  much  the  largest  share. 

The  cruisers  of  the  belligerent  powers  continued  to  in- 
fringe upon  the  rights  of  the  neutrals.  The  battle  of 
Trafalgar  annihilated  the  fleets  of  Spain  and  France. 
The  dread  of  French  cruisers  had  passed  away  ;  and  the 
British  merchants  began  to  complain  of  the  vast  profits 
made  by  the  Americans  in  the  neutral  trade,  whose  emol- 
uments they  wished  to  secure  to  themselves.  It  was 
suspected  that  the  vast  amount  of  property  carried  by  the 
Americans  did  not  belong  to  them,  but  that  it  was  taken 
to  a  neutral  port  merely  to  acquire  a  neutral  character, 
and  then  transhipped  to  the  ports  belonging  to  those  na- 
tions which  were  at  war, — a  charge  no  doubt  true  in  many 
instances.  On  this  ground  American  vessels  were  seized 
and  condemned. 

The  English  government  passed  a  decree  which  de- 
clared the  coast  of  Europe  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  Elbe 
to  Brest,  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade  ; — thus  forbidding 
neutrals  to  trade  within  these  prescribed  limits.  Napo-  May. 
leon,  unable  to  contend  with  England  upon  the  ocean, 
now  issued  the  famous  Berlin  decree,  which  declared  the 
coast  of  Great  Britain  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade.  In 
addition,  he  prohibited  all  trade  in  English  merchandise.  Nov- 
Two  months  later,  Great  Britain  forbade  all  trade  with 
France  whatever.  Thus  these  two  nations  wantonly  dis- 
regarded the  interests  and  rights  of  the  commerce  of  the 
world.  Both  French  and  British  cruisers,  now  captured 
American  trading  ships,  and  the  commerce  which  extend- 
ed to  every  sea,  gradually  dwindled  down  to  a  coasting 
trade.  Owing  to  the  government's  policy — fondly  cher- 
ished as  the  very  essence  of  economy — the  commerce 
of  the  nation  was  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  ocean 
despots  ;  there  was  no  navy  to  give  it  protection,  except 

*       '    .   '  •     •'••' 

•« 


•  » 


564  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


redoubtable  gun-boats,  that  lay  in  the  harbors, 
_  patiently  waiting  for  the  audacious  cruisers  to  come  within 
1806.  their  range. 

The  condemnation  of  vessels  taken  by  foreign  cruisers, 
and  the  forfeiture  of  their  cargoes  to  the  amount  of  mil- 
lions, caused  an  intense  excitement  among  American  mer 
chants.  In  all  the  seaport  towns,  especially,  meetings  were 
held  to  express  the  views  of  the  people,  and  petitions  ask- 
ing protection,  poured  into  Congress.  These  petitions  only 
produced  a  recommendation  of  the  President  to  that  body 
to  build  more  gun-boats.  Is  it  strange  the  policy,  which 
neglected  the  mercantile  interests  of  the  country,  should 
be  contrasted  with  the  profusion  in  which  money  was 
spent  to  purchase  territory,  and  to  liquidate  Indian 
claims  ?  Said  one  party,  it  is  folly  to  provide  a  navy, 
which,  in  case  of  war,  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
British.  The  hardy  seamen  answered,  give  us  the  men- 
of-war  well  armed,  and  we  will  see  that  they  do  not  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Will  not  the  same  energy 
and  spirit,  which  has  extended  American  commerce  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  defend  its  interests,  and  maintain 
the  .honor  of  the  country  ?  In  John  Adams'  adminis- 
tration, Congress  brought  to  terms  the  French  cruisers  on 
American  commerce  ;  it  gave  the  merchants  liberty  to 
protect  themselves,  and  they  did  it,  —  why  not  grant  the 
same  permission  now  ? 


To  these  complaints  were  added  others  equally  as  seri- 
ous. The  British  government  maintained  the  doctrine  that 
no  subject  could  expatriate  himself,  or  transfer  his  alle- 
giance to  another  country.  The  United  States  govern- 
ment maintained  the  reverse,  and  welcomed  emigrants 
from  other  nations,  and  as  adopted  citizens  afforded  them 
protection.  The  commanders  of  British  men-of-war  were 
accustomed  to  board  American  merchant  vessels,  on  the 
high  seas,  and  search  for  deserters,  as  they  termed  those 


• 

THE   IMPRESSMENT COMMISSIONERS   OF   PEACE.  565 

English  or  Irish  sailors,  who  had  thus  entered  the  Amen-  CHAP. 

XLI. 
can  service.  

In  these  impressments  great  numbers  of  native  born  1806. 
Americans  were  forcibly  seized  and  consigned  to  the  slavery 
of  a  British  man-of-war.  These  high-handed  measures, 
executed  in  an  arrogant  manner  by  the  English  officers, 
produced  throughout  the  land  a  feeling  of  bitter  hostility 
to  England.  The  English  government  gave  as  an  apology 
for  these  impressments,  that  in  her  present  struggle  she 
needed  all  her  seamen,  and  if  permission  were  given,  they 
nearly  all  would  desert,  and  enter  American  ships.  Eng- 
land herself  was  to  blame  for  this  want  of  patriotism  in 
her  seamen.  The  iron  hand  of  unfeeling  rule  had  driven 
these  men  from  her  service  ;  her  cruel  press-gangs  had 
crushed  out  their  love  of  home.  They  had  been  seized 
when  unprotected  and  hurried  on  board  inen-of-war,  where 
brutal  severities  had  obliterated  their  nobler  feelings.  Thus 
wantonly  treated,  the  English  seaman  deserted  whenever 
he  had  the  opportunity. 

Events  were  evidently  tending  toward  a  war,  to  avoid 
which  the  President  sent  William  Pinckney,  as  joint  com- 
missioner with  James  Monroe,  who  was  already  minister  April, 
at  the  court  of  St.  James.  The  English  commissioners 
manifested  a  great  desire  not  to  impress  American  sea- 
men, but  to  redress,  as  speedily  as  possible,  any  mistake 
of  that  character.  They  urged,  that  to  relinquish  the 
right  of  search  for  deserters,  would  be  ruinous  to  the  Eng- 
lish navy  in  time  of  war.  Suggesting,  also,  that  stringent 
laws  should  be  made  by  both  nations,  to  prevent  seamen 
from  passing  from  the  service  of  the  one  to  the  other.  The 
prejudices  of  the  English  people  would  not  permit,  at 
least  for  the  present,  any  formal  relinquishment  of  the 
right  of  impressment ;  the  commissioners  further  promised, 
that  strict  orders  should  be  issued  to  the  naval  com- 
manders not  to  abuse  the  right. 

With  the  understanding  that  the  question  of  impress- 


566  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

C;mP'  ments  was  stiU  open,  and  subject  to  future  adjustment, 

.  a  treaty  for  ten  years  was*'  negotiated  between  the  two 

1807.  countries.  This  treaty  was  more  advantageous,  upon  the 
an<  whole,  to  the  United  States,  than  the  one  negotiated  by 
Jay,  and  was  certainly  better  than  the  existing  irritating 
relations  of  the  two  governments.  France  at  this  time, 
by  virtue  of  the  Berlin  decree,  continued  to  seize  and  con- 
fiscate American  property,  while  Great  Britain  was  anx- 
ious to  be  on  as  good  terms  with  the  United  States  as 
her  situation  would  permit.  Yet  the  President,  and 
Mar.  Madison,  his  Secretary  of  State,  arbitrarily  rejected  the 
treaty,  without  either  consulting  the  rest  of  the  cabinet, 
or  the  Senate  which  was  in  session.  The  plea  given  for 
this  extraordinary  act  was,  that  the  treaty  was  not  satis- 
factory on  the  impressment  question.  The  rejection  of 
the  treaty  left  the  relations  of  the  two  countries  in  a  worse 
condition  than  ever,  even  endangering  their  peace.  Wash- 
ington and  his  cabinet,  in  ratifying  the  Jay  treaty,  secured 
to  the  country  thirteen  years  of  peace  and  unexpected 
prosperity  ;  the  rejection  of  this  treaty  was  succeeded  by 
four  years  of  ruinous  evils,  which  resulted  in  plunging  the 
nation  into  a  war.  Though  the  English  government  itself 
was  disposed  to  conciliate,  and  friendly  in  its  expressions, 
yet  its  naval  commanders  were  exceedingly  insolent  in 
their  intercourse  with  the  Americans.  The  inability  of 
the  navy  to  maintain  the  nation's  honor,  tempted  these 
unscrupulous  commanders  to  insult  its  flag.  Thus  far 
they  had  confined  their  visits  to  merchantmen,  presently 
they  went  a  step  farther. 

The  United  States  frigate  Chesapeake,  of  thirty-eight 
guns,  had  enlisted  four  men  who,  it  was  said,  were  de- 
serters from  the  British  ship-of-war  Melampus.  It  was 
afterward  proved  that  only  one  of  them  was  an  English- 
man. Strict  orders  had  been  issued  by  the  government 
to  the  recruiting  officers  not  to  enlist  British  subjects, 

knowing  them  to  be  such. 

5  *,.  * 


THE   ATTACK    ON    THE    FRIGATE    CHESAPEAKE.  567 

Several  English  men-of-war  were,  at  this  time,  lying   CHAP. 
in   Chesapeake    Bay  ;    of  the   number   was   the   frigate  _  L 


Leopard,  of  fifty  guns.  When  it  was  known  that  the  1807. 
Chesapeake  was  about  to  put  to  sea,  the  Leopard  passed 
out  a  few  hours  before,  and  when  some  miles  from  the 
coast,  she  neared  and  hailed  the  Chesapeake,  under  the 
pretense  of  sending  despatches  to  Europe.  A  lieutenant 
came  on  board  with  a  demand  for  the  English  seamen.  June 
Commodore  Barron  refused  the  demand,  on  the  ground 
there  were  no  such  men  on  board.  This  refusal  brought 
a  broadside  from  the  Leopard,  which  killed  three  men  and 
wounded  eighteen  others.  As  the  attack  was  entirely 
unexpected,  and  Barron  unprepared,  he  struck  his  colors, 
after  firing  a  single  gun.  The  four  men  were  taken  from 
the  Chesapeake,  and  the  Leopard  passed  on  to  Halifax, 
while  the  Chesapeake  returned  to  Norfolk,  her  crew  deeply 
mortified  and  thirsting  for  revenge. 

The  indignation  of  the  whole  people  was  intense.  The 
insults  of  impressing  men  from  merchantmen  were  as 
nothing,  compared  with  firing  into  a  national  vessel. 
The  President  immediately  issued  a  proclamation,  in  which  Ju|v 
he  complained  of  the  outrage,  and  ordered  the  British  2. 
men-of-war  out  of  the  American  waters,  but  as  he*  had 
not  the  power  to  enforce  the  order  it  was  disobeyed,  and 
the  people  were  enjoined  not  to  have  intercourse  with  the 
British  vessels.  He  also  called  a  special  session  of  Con- 
gress, and  a  messenger  was  sent  to  England,  with  instruc- 
tions to  the  American  minister  to  demand  satisfaction  for 
the  outrage.  But  a  fast-sailing  vessel  had  already  left 
Halifax  with  the  intelligence.  The  British  government 
immediately  disavowed  the  act,  and  sent,  soon  after,  a 
special  messenger  to  arrange  the  difficulty. 

In  the  mean  while  France  and  England  vied  with  each 
other  in  issuing  and  enforcing  decrees,  which,  in  their 
effect,  would  ruin  all  neutral  commerce.  English  orders 
in  council  required  any  vessel  bound  to  a  port  in  France  Nov. 


568  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CXL?'   to  touch  at  some  English  port,  and  there  obtain  a  license 

to  proceed  on  the  voyage.     Any  vessel  that  did  not  com- 

1807.  ply  with  this  despotic  decree  was  forbidden  to  export 
French  merchandise,  unless  the  cargo  was  first  brought  to 
an  English  port  and  paid  duties  before  it  was  shipped  to 
Dec.  a  neutral  country.  A  month  later  Bonaparte  retaliated 
by  another  decree,  dated  at  Milan,  by  which  every  vessel 
that  complied  with  the  British  decree,  was  declared  to  be 
forfeited.  Thus  American  commerce  was  preyed  upon  by 
both  parties. 

As  a  scheme  of  retaliation,  and  to  bring  the  belliger- 
ents to  terms,  Congress,  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
Dec.  President,  laid  an  embargo,  which  prohibited  American 
commerce  with  France  and  England.  A  measure  lauded 
by  its  advocates  as  the  only  means  to  save  to  their  country 
American  seamen  and  cargoes,  and  at  the  same  time 
compel  France  and  England  to  repeal  their  offensive  de- 
Nov.  crees>  The  effect,  however,  was  just  the  reverse.  Bona- 
parte was  delighted  with  the  embargo,  because  it  dimin- 
ished just  so  much  of  England's  income,  her  means  to 
carry  on  the  war  against  himself;  on  the  other  hand, 
Great  Britain  was  not  dependent  on  American  produce, 
the  trade  to  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  their  colonies,  had 
both  been  recently  opened  to  her  merchants,  who  were 
very  willing  that  their  enterprising  rivals  should  remain 
at  home  to  experiment  on  political  theories.  The  em- 
bargo itself  was  exceedingly  unpopular  in  the  United 
States.  The  intelligent  portion  of  the  people  was  un- 
able to  see  what  benefit  could  be  derived  from  their 
ships  rotting  in  the  ports,  their  seamen  out  of  employ- 
ment, the  industry  of  the  country  prostrated,  and  the 
millions  of  surplus  property  now  worthless  for  want  of  a 
market. 

Some  years  before  Jefferson  had  expressed  the  senti- 
ment that  the  United  States  "should  practise  neither 
commerce  nor  navigation,  but  stand  with  respect  to  Eu- 


OPPOSITION    TO    THE   EMBARGO.  569 


rope  precisely  on  the  footing  of  China."  Had  the  people 
submitted  implicitly  to  the  embargo,  the  system  of  non-  _ 
intercourse  with  other  nations  would  have  been  complete  ;  1807. 
as  it  was,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Executive,  Con- 
gress found  it  necessary  to  pass  stringent  laws  to  enforce 
its  observance.  The  President  was  authorized  to  call  out 
the  militia  and  employ  ships  as  revenue  cutters  to  prevent 
cargoes  of  American  produce  leaving  the  country.  When 
it  became  known  that  this  enforcing  act  had  really  become 
a  law,  public  feeling,  in  many  places,  could  be  no  longer 
restrained.  Many  of  the  papers  announced  its  passage  in 
mourning  columns,  under  the  motto,  "  Liberty  is  dead." 
General  Lincoln,  of  revolutionary  memory,  resigned  the 
collectorship  of  the  port  of  Boston  rather  than  enforce  the 
law  ;  and  great  numbers  of  custom-house  officers  in  other 
places  did  the  same.  In  the  agricultural  portions  of  the 
country,  the  effect  of  the  embargo  was  not  so  immediate 
as  in  the  commercial.  The  planters  and  farmers,  implicitly 
trusting  in  the  wisdom  of  the  Executive,  stored  up  their 
cotton,  tobacco  and  grain,  hoping  for  a  market  when  the 
belligerents  would  be  pleased  to  repeal  their  hostile 
decrees. 

Some  good  grew  out  of  this  evil.  The  tens  of  thou- 
sands thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  effect  of  the  em- 
bargo and  kindred  measures,  were  compelled  by  the  iron 
hand  of  necessity  to  seek  a  livelihood  by  other  means,  and 
their  attention  was  somewhat  directed  to  domestic  manu- 
factures. 

Opposition  to  the  embargo  still  continued  ;  in  Con- 
gress violent  debates  were  held  from  day  to  day  upon  the 
exciting  topic.  At  length  even  the  planters  and  farmers 
began  to  waver  in  their  faith,  and  to  see  as  well  as  the 
New  Englanders  that  it  was  a  futile  measure  ;  that  in- 
stead of  bringing  the  French  and  English  to  terms  it  was 
the  subject  of  their  ridicule,  while  it  was  becoming  more 
and  more  ruinous  to  the  nation. 


570  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.         Madison,  who  had  been  elected  President,  plainly  in- 
1  timated  his  wish  that  the  obnoxious  measure  should,  in 

1807".  some  way,  be  got  rid  of;  and  three  days  before  the  close 
of  Jefferson's  term  the  arbitrary  act,  forced  upon  the 
country  without  a  moment's  warning,  and  which  brought 
ruin  upon  thousands  in  loss  of  property  and  of  employ- 
ment, was,  to  the  joy  of  the  nation,  repealed. 

Thus  drew  to  a  close  Jefferson's  administration.  Non- 
importation acts,  so  effective  in  colonial  times,  were  futile 
under  other  circumstances — a  fact  which  the  advocates  of 
the  non-intercourse  theory  were  some  time  in  learning. 
There  was  as  much  diversity  in  estimating  Jefferson's 
character  as  there  was  in  relation  to  his  policy.  His  ad- 
mirers lauded  him  as  the  embodiment  of  political  wisdom 
and  republican  simplicity.  An  enthusiastic  believer  in 
the  power  of  the  masses  to  govern  themselves,  he  was  an 
advocate  for  the  rights  of  humanity,  not  merely  in  name 
but  in  sincerity,  and  as  such  deserves  to  be  held  in 
honor. 


« 


CHAPTEK    XLII. 

MADISON'S   ADMINISTRATION 

Condition  of  the  Country. — Erskine's  Negotiation. — Depredations  upon 
American  Commerce. — Bonaparte's  Rambouillet  Decree. — Affair  of 
the  Little  Belt. — The  Census. — Indian  Troubles. — Tecumseh  and  the 
Prophet. — Battle  of  Tippecanoe. — The  two  Parties. — The  Twelfth  Con- 
gress.— Henry  Clay. — John  C.  Calhoun. — Threatening  Aspect  of  For- 
eign Relations. — John  Randolph. — Debates  in  Congress. — Another  Em- 
bargo.— War  declared  against  Great  Britain. — Opposition  to  the  War. 
— Riots  at  Baltimore. — Operations  in  the  North-west. — Surrender  of 
Hull. — Impressment  of  American  Seamen. — Failures  to  invade  Canada. 

THE  incoming  administration  was  virtually  pledged 
to  continue  the  foreign  policy  of  its  predecessor,  though 
that  policy  had  not  yet  accomplished  what  its  sanguine  1809. 
friends  anticipated.  The  prediction  of  the  Federalists — 
the  conservative  party  of  those  days — that  such  measures 
would  lead  to  a  war  with  England,  seemed  to  be  near  its 
fulfilment.  The  prospect  was  gloomy  indeed.  The 
nation  was  totally  unprepared  for  such  an  event.  Neither 
army  nor  navy  to  command  respect  ;  no  munitions  of  war 
^  worthy  the  name  ;  the  defences  of  the  seaboard  almost 
r  worthless  ;  the  revenue,  owing  to  the  embargo  and  non- 
intercourse  acts,  much  diminished  and  diminishing  more 
and  more.  The  President  and  his  cabinet  desired  to  re- 
lieve the  country  of  these  pressing  evils. 

To  accomplish  this  end,  negotiations  were  commenced 
with  Erskine,  the  resident  British  Minister.  The  youth- 
ful Erskine  was  a  generous  and  noble-hearted  man  ;  a 


572  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  warm  friend  of  the  United  States,  unused  to  the  tricks  of 

-X.Jj.LJL 

diplomacy,  he  really  wished  to  act  generously  for  the  in- 

1809.  terests  of  both  nations,  and  not  selfishly  for  his  own.     He 
knew  that  Britain  would  derive  great  advantage  from  the 
renewal  of  trade  with  the  United  States,  and  hoped  that 
the  latter  might  be  induced  to  take  sides  in  the  present 
struggle  against  France. 

In  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  certain  instructions, 
ErsMne  thought  himself  authorized  to  offer  "  a  suitable 
provision  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  were 
killed  on  board  the  Chesapeake,"  and  to  announce  the 
conditional  repeal  of  the  Orders  in  Council  as  far  as  they 
applied  to  the  commerce  of  the  United  States.  This  re- 
peal was  to  take  place  on  the  tenth  of  the  following  June. 

1810.  The  President,  on  this  assurance,  issued  a  proclamation, 
giving  permission  for  a  renewal  of  commercial  intercourse 

April.  wjth  Great  Britain.  The  news  was  hailed  with  joy 
throughout  the  land.  In  a  few  weeks  more  than  a  thou- 
sand ships,  laden  with  American  produce,  were  on  their 
way  to  foreign  markets.  This  gleam  of  sunshine  was  soon 
obscured.  Four  months  after  the  President  issued  another 

Aug.  proclamation  ;  he  now  recalled  the  previous  one,  and  again 
established  non-intercourse  between  the  two  countries. 

The  British  ministry  had  disavowed  the  provisional 
arrangement  made  by  Erskine,  giving  as  one  reason  that 
he  had  gone  beyond  his  instructions.  In  the  communica- 
tion accepting  Erskine's  offer  to  provide  for  the  sufferers 
in  the  Chesapeake  affair,  the  provision  was  spoken  of  as 
an  "  act  of  justice  comporting  with  what  was  due  from  his 
Britannic  majesty  to  his  own  honor."  This  uncourteous 
remark  gave  offence,  and  furnished  another  pretext  for 
breaking  off  the  negotiation. 

The  failure  of  this  arrangement,  which  had  promised 
so  much,  greatly  mortified  the  President  and  his  cabinet, 
and  as  greatly  wounded  the  self-respect  of  the  nation. 
In  consequence  of  this  feeling,  Jackson,  the  special  envoy, 


MERCHANTS   ASK    PERMISSION    TO    ARM   THEIR    SHIPS.  573 


sent  soon  after  by  England,  was  not  very  graciously  re- 
ceived.      Negotiations  were,  however,  commenced   with  _  1 
him,  but  after  exchanging  angry  notes  for  some  months,    1810. 
all  diplomatic  intercourse  was  suspended  between  the  two 
countries. 

American  commerce  had  now  less  protection  than 
ever.  In  the  desperate  conflict  going  on  in  Europe  it  was 
impossible  to  obtain  redress  from  any  of  the  belligerents. 
The  ocean  swarmed  with  French  and  English  cruisers, 
while  Danish  privateers  infested  the  northern  seas.  They 
all  enjoyed  a  rich  harvest  in  plundering  American  mer- 
chantmen, under  the  convenient  pretence  that  they  car- 
ried goods  contraband  of  war.  Great  numbers  of  ships 
thus  pillaged  were  burned  at  sea  to  destroy  all  traces  of 
the  robbery.  Willing  to  trust  to  their  own  genius  to 
escape  capture,  the  American  merchants  asked  permission 
to  arm  their  ships  in  self-defence.  Congress  denied  the 
request,  on  the  ground  that  such  a  state  of  affairs  would 
be  war  !  The  people,  however,  thought  there  was  little 
to  choose  between  actual  war  and  a  system  of  active  legal- 
ized piracy.  Even  the  planters  and  farmers,  finding  on 
their  hands  a  vast  amount  of  produce,  for  which  a  market 
was  denied,  were  now  inclined  to  strengthen  the  navy, 
that  it  might  protect  commerce,  or  if  necessary  make  an 
irruption  into  Canada,  and  by  that  means  compel  Great 
Britain  to  repeal  her  odious  decrees. 

France  in  the  mean  time  was  committing  greater  out- 
rages on  American  commerce  than  even  England.  Bo- 
naparte issued  a  decree,  the  Eambouillet,  by  which  any 
American  vessel  that  entered  a  French  port  or  a  port  of 
any  country  under  French  control,  was  declared  liable  to  ^ar 
confiscation.  It  shows  the  deliberate  design  of  this  pi- 
ratical decree,  that  it  was  not  promulgated  till  six  weeks 
after  its  date.  The  first  intimation  American  merchants 
received  of  its  existence,  was  the  seizure  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-two  of  their  ships,  in  French  ports.  These 


574  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CXLn'    were  soon  a^er  so^  wi*n  their  cargoes,  and  the  money, 

,  amounting  to   eight   millions   of  dollars,  placed   in   the 

1810.  French  treasury.  Expostulations  against  such  high-handed 
measures  were  treated  with  contempt  and  insult.  The 
French  minister  of  foreign  affairs  even  charged  the  United 
States  "with  a  want  of  honor,  energy,  and  just  political 
views,"  in  not  defending  themselves.  Bonaparte's  great 
object  was  to  drive  them  into  a  war  with  England,  and 
thus  exclude  from  her  American  produce.  With  this  in- 
tention he  pretended  he  would  revoke  the  Berlin  and  Milan 
decrees,  on  condition  the  United  States  would  make  their 
rights  respected,  or  in  other  words,  go  to  war  with  Eng- 
land. At  this  time  the  only  port  in  Europe  really  open 
to  American  commerce  was  that  of  Archangel  in  Russia. 
There  American  ships,  after  running  the  gauntlet  between 
French  and  Danish  cruisers,  landed  their  cargoes  of 
merchandise,  which  were  thence  smuggled  into  France 
and  Germany. 

Ere  long  Bonaparte's  want  of  money  mastered  his 
hatred  of  England,  and  he  unblushingly  became  the  viola- 
tor of  his  own  decrees,  and  sold  to  the  Americans,  at  enor- 
mous prices,  licenses  which  gave  them  permission  to  in- 
troduce their  products  into  French  ports. 

<v  None  felt  the  national  insult  given  in  the  Chesapeake 
affair  so  deeply  as  the  naval  officers.  They  were  anx- 
iously watching  for  an  opportunity  to  retaliate. 

The  frigate  President,  Captain  Rodgers,  was  cruising  off 
the  capes  of  Delaware,  when  a  strange  sloop-of-war  gave 
chase,  but  when  within  a  few  miles,  her  signals  not  being 
answered,  she  stood  to  the  southward.  The  President 
now  in  turn  gave  chase,  and  in  the  twilight  of  the  evening 
came  within  hailing  distance.  Eodgers  hailed,  but  was 
answered  by  the  same  question  ;  another  hail^was  given 
with  a  similar  result.  The  stranger  fired  a  gun,  which 
was  replied  to  by  one  from  the  President.  These  were 


TECUMSEH  AND  THE  PROPHET.  575 

succeeded  by  broadsides  from  both  vessels.      The  action  CHAP. 

lasted  about  twenty  minutes,  when  the  stranger  was  com-  1 

pletely  disabled.  Rodgers  hailed  again,  and  now  was  1810. 
answered  that  the  vessel  was  his  Majesty's  sloop-of-war 
Little  Belt.  The  disparity  in  the  injury  done  to  the  re- 
spective vessels  was  quite  remarkable.  The  Little  Belt 
had  more  than  thirty  of  her  crew  killed  and  wounded, 
while  the  President  was  scarcely  injured,  and  had  only  one 
person  slightly  wounded.  The  affair  created  much  ex- 
citement in  both  nations,  and  served  to  increase  that 
alienation  of  feeling  which  had  been  so  long  in  existence. 
The  statements  of  the  commanding  officers  differed  very 
much  as  to  the  commencement  of  the  encounter,  but  as 
each  government  accepted  the  testimony  of  its  own  officers, 
the  matter  was  permitted  to  drop. 

The  census  just  taken,  showed  the  following  result: — 
the  ratio  of  representation  was  fixed  at  thirty-five  thou- 
sand : 

Free  Whites.  Slaves.  All  others.  Totals.  Eeps. 

5,862,093.      1,191,364.      186,446.      7,239,903.     182. 

Events  of  serious  interest  were  occurring  on  the  western 
frontier.  Numbers  of  Indian  tribes  from  time  to  time  had 
ceded  their  lands  and  moved  farther  west.  But  the  in- 
satiable white  man  still  pressed  on  ;  his  cultivated  fields 
still  encroached  upon  the  Indian's  hunting-grounds,  and 
game  was  fast  disappearing.  When  is  this  grasping  at 
land  to  end  ?  asked  the  savages  of  each  other.  Two 
brothers,  twins,  of  the  Shawnee  tribe,  resolved  to  free 
their  brethren  from  the  aggressions  of  the  settlers. 
Their  plans  were  well  laid,  and  showed  an  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  the  secret  of  influence.  The  one,  Teeumseh, 
was  to  play  the  warrior's  part,  the  other  Elskwatawa, 
more  commonly  known  as  the  Prophet,  appealed  to  their 
superstitions  ;  he  professed  to  be  a  wonderful  medicine- 
man, and  in  communication  with  the  Great  Spirit. 

Tecumseh  travelled  from  tribe  to  tribe,  all  along  the 


* 

576  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CXLU    frontiersJ  from  north  of  tne  great  lakes  to  the  Gulf  of 

„  Mexico,  and  by  his  eloquence  endeavored  to  unite  them 

1811.  in  a  universal  conspiracy  against  the  common  enemy. 
He  knew  the  attempt  to  expel  the  invaders  would  be 
vain,  but  he  hoped  his  people  would  unite  as  one  man, 
and  refuse  to  sell  them  any  more  of  their  lands.  To  ac- 
g  eomplish  their  purpose  the  Indians  must  be  independent ; 
they  must  dispense  with  the  few  comforts  they  received 
from  the  white  man,  and  they  must  spurn  the  religion 
which  missionaries  had  been  laboring  to  teach  them.  The 
Prophet  fulfilled  his  part ;  he  awed  his  simple  auditors 
with  imposing  powwows  ;  the  Great  Spirit  had  given  him 
marvellous  powers.  He  could  at  a  word  make  pumpkins, 
as  large  as  wigwams,  spring  out  of  the  earth  ;  or  ears  of 
corn,  each  large  enough  to  feed  a  dozen  men  ;  he  appealed 
to  their  reverence  for  the  customs  of  their  ancestors,  and 
sneered  at  their  degradation  in  being  the  slave  of  the 
white  man's  whiskey,  or  fire-water,  as  he  significantly 
called  it.  He  must  be  obeyed — they  must  throw  aside 
the  blanket  and  dress  in  skins  ;  instead  of  the  gun  they 
must  use  the  ancient  bow  and  arrow  ;  and  the  iron  toma- 
hawk must  give  place  to  the  stone  hatchet  of  their  fathers  ; 
but  above  all,  they  must  discard  the  religion  of  the  white 
man  ;  it  was  the  rejection  of  their  ancient  religion,  which 
made  the  Great  Spirit  so  angry. 

Alarm  spread  along  the  frontier  settlements.  The 
Miamis  had  sold  a  portion  of  their  lands  on  both  sides  of 
the  Wabash.  Tecumseh  was  absent  at  the  time,  but 
protested  afterward,  contending  that  as  all  the  lands  be- 
longed equally  to  all  the  Indians,  no  tribe  had  a  right  to 
sell  a  portion  of  them  without  the  consent  of  the  others. 

General  William  Henry  Harrison,  the  Governor  of  the 
Territory  of  Indiana,  held  a  conference  with  Tecumseh, 
who  at  the  time  professed  to  be  friendly,  but  his  conduct 
afterward  excited  suspicion.  Lest  the  Indians  should 
jxpectedly  commence  hostilities,  Harrison  marched  to 


unej 


BATTLE    OF    TIPPECANOE.  577 

the  town  lately  established  by  the  Prophet,  at  the  junction  CHAP. 

of  the  Wabash  and  Tippecanoe  rivers.     Messengers  sent  '_ 

by  the  Prophet  met  the  army  a  few  miles  from  the  town.  1811. 
Though  Indians  were  hovering  around  the  army  on  its 
march,  yet  efforts  to  hold  a  conference  with  them  had  thus 
far  been  unsuccessful.  The  messengers  expressed  great 
surprise  that  the  Americans  should  approach  their  town,  ,, 
since  the  Prophet  and  his  people  were  very  desirous  of 
peace.  Harrison  assured  them  that  he  had  no  intention 
to  engage  in  hostilities,  unless  they  themselves  should 
attack  him,  and  he  invited  the  Prophet  and  his  chiefs  to 
an  interview  the  next  day.  The  messengers  departed  ap- 
parently pleased  with  the  proposal,  and  on  their  part 
promised  full  compliance. 

Knowing  the  Indian  character,  Harrison  suspected 
treachery,  and  encamped  with  great  caution ;  his  men, 
placed  in  a  hollow  square,  slept  upon  their  arms.  The 
next  morning,  about  four  o'clock,  the  Indians  suddenly 
attacked  the  camp,  but  failed  to  break  the  line.  For  Nov. 
three  hours  the  contest  was  very  severe.  The  Indians 
would  advance  with  great  impetuosity,  and  then  retreat 
to  renew  the  effort.  These  movements  were  regulated  by 
signals  given  by  rattling  deers'  hoofs.  When  daylight 
appeared,  the  mounted  men  charged,  and  the  savages  fled 
in  great  haste.  The  next  day  the  Prophet's  town  was 
found  to  be  deserted.  Tecumseh  himself  was  not  present 
at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe. 

The  belligerents  of  Europe  still  continued  their  ag- 
gressions upon  American  commerce.  Kecent  intelligence 
from  France  indicated  but  little  prospect  of  obtaining  re- 
dress for  present  grievances,  while  the  impressment  ques-  ^ 
tion  made  the  affairs  with  Great  Britain  still  more  com- 
plicated. Differences  of  opinion  prevailed,  as  to  the  best 
means  of  obtaining  justice  for  these  foreign  aggressions. 
The  people  of  New  England,  and  the  merchants  of  the 
37 


578  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

'f, 

CHAP,  commercial  cities  and  seaports  of  the  other  States,  felt 

especially  aggrieved  by  the  policy  of  the  national  govern- 

1811.  ment.  The  embargo  and  non-importation  acts  had  ruined 
their  commerce,  and  brought  distress  upon  tens  of  thou- 
sands. Upon  them,  almost  alone,  had  fallen  the  evils 
resulting  from  these  political  experiments.  The  people 
of  the  West,  and  of  the  Mfeerior  of  the  Atlantic  States, 
were  in  favor  of  hostilities  ;  their  territory  would  be  exempt 
from  invasion,  and  they  had  no  seaport  towns  to  suffer 
from  bombardment.  Thus  there  were  really  two  parties, 
the  one  in  favor  of  obtaining  redress  by  peaceful  measures, 
the  other  by  resorting  to  war. 

In  view  of  these  threatening  indications,  the  Presi- 
dent, by  proclamation,  convened  the  twelfth  Congress  a 
STov.  month  earlier  than  the  usual  time  of  meeting.  This 
4>  Congress  and  the  one  succeeding  are  no  less  remarkable 
for  the  measures  they  introduced  than  for  the  unusual 
number  of  their  members,  who  afterward  filled  a  large 
space  in  the  history  of  the  country.  It  was  a  transition 
period.  The  patriots  of  the  revolution,  now  venerable 
with  age,  were  fast  passing  away  from  the  councils  of  the 
nation,  while  their  places  were  filled  by  more  youthful 
members.  Heretofore  the  leaders  in  Congress  had  been 
moderate  in  their  measures,  and  were  unwilling,  unless 
for  the  best  of  reasons,  to  plunge  the  nation  into  a  war. 

As  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  appeared 
Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky.  The  son  of  a  Baptist  clergy- 
man of  Virginia,  he  had  been  left  at  an  early  age  a  penni- 
less orphan.  Struggling  through  many  trials,  his  native 
eloquence  had  now  placed  him  in  the  foremost  rank  of  his 
country's  orators.  Ardent  and  generous,  bland  and  yet 
imperious,  as  captivating  in  social  life  as  he  was  frank  in 
his  public  acts,  he  was  destined  to  wield  a  mighty  in- 
fluence in  the  councils  of  the  nation.  John  C.  Calhoun, 
of  South  Carolina,  was  also  a  member  ;  the  close  student 
ardent  theorist,  dealing  in  first  principles,  he  was 


and 


* 

** 


w*f 


THREATENING   ASPECT    OF    FOREIGN    RELATIONS.  579 


logical  and  eloquent.     His  style  more  suited  to  forensic  CHAP. 
debates  than  to  popular  assemblies.  '_ 

The  President,  in  his  message,  directed  the  attention  1811. 
of  Congress  to  the  threatening  aspect  of  Foreign  Kelations. 
This  led  to  animated  debates,  in  which  the  policy  of  peace 
or  war  ;  the  defences  of  the*  country  ;  the  preliminary 
measures  in  case  of  a  declaration  of  hostilities,  came  up 
for  discussion.  The  speeches  of  the  members  may  be 
taken  as  the  exponents  of  the  opinions  of  their  constitu- 
ents. The  people  of  the  West  were  especially  clamorous 
for  war.  The  recent  outbreak  of  the  Indians,  on  the 
western  frontiers,  was  confidently  attributed  to  the  in- 
fluence of  British  emissaries.  This  charge,  though  based 
upon  surmises,  served  to  increase  the  prejudice  against 
England,  and  gave  renewed  life  to  the  hatred  of  her  pro- 
duced by  the  Kevolution. 

Finally,  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Kelations,  in  their 
report  to  the  House,  recommended,  in  the  words  of  the 
President,  "  That  the  United  States  be  immediately  put  Dec. 
into  an  armor  and  attitude  demanded  by  the  crisis  ; 
that  an  additional  force  of  ten  thousand  regulars  be 
raised  ;  that  the  President  be  authorized  to  accept  the 
services  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers  ;  and  also  that  the 
vessels  of  the  navy  worthy  of  repair  be  fitted  up  and  put 
in  commission."  Two  separate  resolutions  were  offered  ; 
one  authorized  the  merchants  to  arm  in  self-defence,  and 
the  other,  as  a  preliminary  to  war,  to  lay  an  embargo  for 
ninety  days.  After  an  animated  discussion  these  were 
both  rejected. 

Felix  Grundy,  of  Tennessee,  avowed  that  the  report 
of  the  Committee  was  designed  to  prepare  the  publitrmind 
for  war.  "  We  are  pledged,"  said  he,  "  to  France  to  con- 
tinue our  restrictions  against  Great  Britain  ;  we  have  tied 
the  Gordian  knot ;  we  cannot  untie  it  ;  we  can  cut  it 
with  th|  sword."  "  Though  our  restrictive  system 
operates  unequally,  we  must  maintain  it,"  He  also  advo- 


580  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    cated  the  invasion  and  conquest  of  Canada,  and  the  re- 

ception  of  her  inhabitants  as  members  of  the  confederacy, 

1811.  in  order  to  preserve  the  equilibrium  of  the  government. 
Dec'  "When  Louisiana/'  said  he,  "  will  be  fully  peopled,  the 
Northern  States  will  lose  their  power  ;  they  will  be  at  the 
discretion  of  others  ;  they  can  be  depressed  at  pleasure." 
Therefore  he  was  not  only  in  favor  of  admitting  Canada, 
but  also  Florida. 

John  Kandolph,  of  Virginia,  in  that  sarcastic  manner 
peculiar  to  himself,  characterized  the  embargo  and  non- 
importation acts  as  most  impolitic  and  ruinous  measures 
— they  had  "  knocked  down  the  price  of  cotton  to  seven 
cents  and  tobacco  to  nothing,"  while  they  had  increased 
the  price  of  every  article  of  first  necessity  three  or  four 
hundred  per  cent.  This  is  the  condition  into  which  we 
have  brought  ourselves  by  our  want  of  wisdom.  But  is 
war  the  true  remedy  ;  who  will  profit  by  it  ?  Speculators, 
commissioners  and  contractors.  Who  must  suffer  by  it  ? 
The  people.  It  is  their  blood,  their  taxes,  that  must 
flow  to  support  it.  Will  you  plunge  the  nation  into  war, 
because  you  have  passed  a  foolish  and  ruinous  law,  and 
are  ashamed  to  repeal  it  ? 

He  indignantly  repelled  the  charge  of  British  attach- 
ment made  against  those  who  were  not  willing  to  rush 
into  war  with  England.  "  Strange,"  said  he,  "  that  we 
have  no  objection  to  any  other  people  or  government, 
civilized  or  savage  ;  we  find  no  difficulty  in  maintaining 
relations  of  peace  and  amity  with  the  Autocrat  of  all  the* 
Kussias  ;  with  the  Dey  of  Algiers  and  his  divan  of 
pirates,  or  Little  Turtle  of  the  Miamis,  barbarians  and 
savages,  Turks  and  infidels  of  every  clime  and  color,  with 
them  we  can  trade  and  treat.  But  name  England,  and 
all  our  antipathies  are  up  in  arms  against  her ;  against 
those  whose  blood  runs  in  our  veins,  in  common  with 
whom  we  claim  Shakspeare  and  Milton,  Newton  and 
Locke,  Sidney  and  Chatham,  as  brethren.  Her  form  of 


, 


p  Apple : 


•..* 


*     * 

I 


.^-i  ' 

DEBATES  IN  CONGRESS HENRY  CLAY.  581 

' 

government,  the  freest   on  earth,  except  our   own,  and  CHAP. 

from  which  every  valuable  principle  of  our  institutions  has  _ 

been  borrowed.  There  are  honest  prejudices  growing  out  1811. 
of  the  Kevolution.  But  by  whom  had  they  been  suppress- 
ed when  they  ran  counter  to  the  interests  of  his  country  ? 
By  Washington.  By  whom  are  they  most  keenly  felt  ? 
By  those  who  have  fled  to  this  abused  country  since  the 
breaking  out  of  the  French  revolution,  and  who  have  set 
themselves  up  as  political  teachers."  This  was  in  allusion 
to  the  editors  of  nearly  all  the  papers  in  favor  of  war,  who 
were  foreigners — "  these  are  the  patriots  who  scruple  not 
to  brand  with  the  epithet  of  Tory,  those  men  by  whose 
blood  your  liberties  have  been  cemented." 

Henry  Clay  urged,  in  reply,  that  the  only  means  left 
to  obtain  the  recognition  of  OUT  national  rights  was  to 
fight  for  them.  A  war  would  produce  the  repeal  of  the 
Orders  in  Council,  and  give  us  commerce  and  character  ; 
the  nation  by  this  mongrel  peace  would  not  only  lose  its 
commerce,  but  its  honor.  If  we  yield  one  point,  presently 
another  will  be  demanded  ;  our  only  safety  is  to  defend 
the  nation's  rights  ; — even  if  the  seaboard  should  be  sub-  * 
dued,  yet  the  energy  of  the  West  would  save  the  liberties 
of  the  country.  Shall  we  bear  the  cuffs  and  scoffs  of  Sept. 
British  arrogance,  because  we  fear  French  subjugation  ?  5' 
Who  ever  learned,  in  the  school  of  base  submission,  the 
lessons  of  noble  freedom,  and  courage,  and  independence  \" 
.On  the  other  side  of  the  House,  it  was  admitted  that 
causes  for  war  existed,  but  were  they  sufficient  to  justify 
the  government  of  the  United  States  in  rushing  unpre- 
pared into  a  contest  with  the  most  powerful  nation  on 
earth  ?  This  was  the  question  to  be  decided  by  Congress. 
"  What  are  we  to  gain  by  war  ?  "  asked  Sheffey  of  Vir- 
ginia. "  Shall  we  throw  away  a  trade  of  thirty-two  millions 
ith  Great  Britain  for  two  with  France  ?  Peace  i*our 
licy  ;  we  are  now  the  most  prosperous  and  happy 
people  on  earth.  This  is  more  to  us,  than  all  the  Orders 

- 

* 


.._,  •*, 


582  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  in  Council  or  the  trade  with  France.     We  cannot  bring 

/-v 
Great  Britain  to  terms  by  embargo  and  non-importation 

1811.  acts  ;  neither  can  we  starve  the  world  by  refusing  to  ex- 
port our  surplus  grain.     Our  revenue  is  low  enough  now, 
in  time  of  war   it  will  be  almost  nothing.     We  should  be 
willing  to  fight  for  the  rights  of  impressed  native-born 
Americans,  but  not  for  the  right  to  harbor  deserters  from 
the  British  service." — "  Is  this  embargo  a  preparation  for 
war  ?  "  asked  Josiah  Quincy  of  Massachusetts.    "  We  have 
no  information  that  England   intends  war.      It   is   her 
policy  to  continue  commerce  with  us,  not  to  destroy  it. 
But  we  are  told  that  the  object  is  to  protect  our  "merchants. 
Heaven  help  them  from  embargo  protection  !     The  mer- 
chants have  petitioned — not  for  embargo — not  for  com- 
mercial embarrassment  and    annihilation — but  for   pro- 
tection." 

1812.  While  these  debates  were  in  progress  in  the  House,  the 
same  general  subject  was  under  discussion  in  the  Senate. 
In  both  Houses  an  unusual  number  of  southern  members 
were  now  in  favor  of  making  the  navy  more  efficient.     It 

t  was  urged  that  the  only  way  to  bring  Great  Britain  to 
terms  was  by  harassing  her  commerce  on  the  ocean.  To 
do  this  a  fleet  was  needed.  "  Create  a  fleet  of  thirty  frigates," 
said  Lloyd,  of  Massachusetts,  "  and  New  England  alone 
will  officer  it  in  five  weeks."  "  How  can  we  contend  with 
the  most  colossal  power  the  world  ever  saw,  except  by  our 
navy,  scattered  over  the  ocean,  requiring  ten  times  as 
many  British  vessels  to  watch  them  ?  Adopt  this  policy, 
and  spon  the  English  people  would  ask  their  government, 
Why  this  war  upon  our  trade  ?  why  violate  the  rights  of 
Americans  ?l  For  whose  benefit  is  this  war  ?  Soon  you 
will  force  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  becojne  their 

1  "They  (the  Orders  in  Council)  were  grievously  unjust  to  neutrals,  and 
it  is  now  (1850)  generally  allowed  that  they  were  contrary  to  the  law  of  na- 
tions,  and  to  our  own  municipal  laws." — Lord  Chief  Justice  Campbell,  in 
his  Lives  of  the  Chancellors,  vol  vii.  p.  218. 

^^T 


* 


*-          '  ,#  V 


THE    PRESIDENT    RECOMMENDS   WAR.  583 

own  manufacturers  ;  you  will  stimulate  them  to  become  CHAP. 

a  naval  power,  which  one  day  may  dispute  with  you  the  

supremacy  of  the  ocean."  "  In  a  short  time  the  English  1812. 
government  would  be  compelled  to  repeal  its  odious  de- 
crees." "  To  protect  commerce  is  to  aid  agriculture,  to 
benefit  the  northern  as  well  as  the  middle  and  southern 
States.  Moreover,  it  is  essential  to  the  preservation  of 
the  Unipi ;  the  commercial  States  will  not  endure  that 
their  rights  should  be  systematically  trampled  upon  from 
year  to  year,  and  they  denied  the  defence  which  the  God 
of  nature  has  given  them/' 

The  discussions  of  these  five  months  had  a  great  influ- 
ence upon  the  public  mind.  Though  unwilling  to  use 
harsher  measures  than  to  authorize  the  merchants  to  de- 
fend themselves  by  arming  their  ships,  the  President  sent 
a  special  message  to  Congress  recommendimg  an  embargo 
for  sixty  days.  The  bill  was  amended  by  substituting 
ninety  for  sixty,  in  which  form  it  passed,  debate  being  cut  April 
short  by  the  rule  of  the  previous  question. 

One  month  and  a  half  later,  intelligence  from  France 
made  known  that  Bonaparte,  in  violation  of  his  word,  had  * 
declared  the  obnoxious  decrees  of  Berlin  and  Milan  hence- 
forth the  settled  policy  of  the  Empire.  Thus  the  Emperor  June, 
had  entrapped  the  President.  But  England  was  as  much 
in  the  wrong  as  France,  and  if  so,  why  not  declare  war 
against  both  ? — It  was  openly  avowed  in  Parliament  that 
the  offensive  decrees  and  blockades  rntist  be  maintained, 
or  France  could  receive  raw  material  from  the  United 
States  ;  continue  her  manufactures,  and  thus  obtain  the 
means  to  carry  on  the  war.  Great  Britain  also  wished  to 
secure  for  her  own  people  the  monopoly  of  commerce,  as 
well  as  that  of  manufacturing  for  the  world. 

The  President  finally  sent  another  message  to  Congress, 
in  which  he  recapitulated  the  wrongs  inflicted  by  England 
in  her  impressments  and  violations  of  the  rights  of  neutrals? 
This  was  plainly  a  war  message,  and  in  accordance  with 

^^ 


584  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  that  view,  a  bill  was  drawn  up  declaring  war  against 

1  Great  Britain.     It  was  passed  by  a  strictly  party  vote  : — 

1812.    in  the  House  79  to  49,  in  the  Senate  19  to  13. 
UUQ          rpj^  pe0p]e  were  far  from  keing  -unanimous  in  their 

approbation  of  the  declaration  of  war.  The  minority  of 
the  Lower  House  of  Congress  published  an  address  to 
their  constituents,  in  which  the  views  of  those  opposed  to 
the  war  found  expression.  After  a  review  of  tBe  contro- 
versy between  the  United  States  and  the  belligerents,  they 
contend  there  was  equal  cause  for  hostilities  against  both 
England  and  France  ;  that  it  was  unreasonable  to  expect 
the  full  recognition  of  neutrals'  rights  while  the  desperate 
conflict  in  Europe  was  in  progress  ;  that  conflict  would 
soon  end,  and  then  the  cause  for  war  on  our  part  would  be 
removed.  The  Address  says,  "  The  effect  of  the  British 
orders  of  blockade,  is  to  deprive  us  of  the  commerce  of 
France  and  her  dependencies,  while  they  leave  open  to  us 
the  commerce  of  all  the  rest  of  the  world  ;  the  former 
worth  yearly  about  six  millions  and  a  half,  and  the  latter 
worth  thirty-eight  millions.  Shall  the  latter  be  sacrificed 
for  the  former  ?  A  nation  like  the  United  States,  happy 
in  its  great  local  relations ;  removed  from  that  bloody 
theatre  of  Europe,  with  a  maritime  border  opening  vast 
fields  of  enterprise  ;  with  territorial  possessions  exceeding 
every  real  want  ;  its  firesides  safe  ;  its  altars  undefiled  ; 
from  invasion  nothing  to  fear  ;  from  acquisition  nothing 
to  hope,  how  shall  such  a  nation  look  to  Heaven  for  its 
smiles,  while  throwing  away  as  though  they  were  worth- 
less,'&ll  the  blessings  and  joys  which  peace  and  such  a 
distinguished  lot  include  ?  But  how  will  war  upon  the 
land  protect  commerce  ?  How  are  our  mariners  to  be 
benefited  by  a  war  which  exposes  those  who  are  free, 
without  promising  release  to  those  who  are  impressed  ? 
But  it  is  said  that  war  is  demanded  by  honor.  If  honor 
demands  a  war  with  England,  what  opiate  lulls  that 
honor  to  sleep  over  the  wrongs  done  us  by  France  ?  " 

*  .  -        * 

*  .« 


M  \ 


THE    EMBARRASSMENTS    OF    CONGRESS.  585 

Such  was  the  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  expediency  CHAP. 

of  engaging  in  war,  especially  when  the  country,  in  every  '_ 

respect,  was  so  unprepared.     The  opponents  of  the  measure    1812. 
were  assailed  as  unpatriotic,  which  they  retorted  by  charg- 
ing the  advocates  of  war  with  subserviency  to  the  policy 
of  France. 

It  was  easier  for  Congress  to  declare  war,  than  to  ob- 
tain the  means  to  prosecute  it.  The  treasury  was  almost 
empty,  the  non-importation  acts,  and  embargoes,  had 
nearly  ruined  the  revenue  ;  the  army  was  very  limited  in 
number,  and  very  deficient  in  officers  of  experience  ;  while 
the  navy  was  wanting  in  ships  and  munitions.  Congress 
passed  a  bill  to  enlist  twenty-five  thousand  men  as  regu- 
lars, and  authorized  the  President  to  accept  the  services 
of  fifty  thousand  volunteers. 

In  appointing  officers  for  the  army,  recourse  was 
had,  almost  exclusively,  to  those  who  had  served  in  the 
Kevolution  ;  but  the  most  prominent  of  these  had  passed 
away,  and  the  remainder,  with  but  one  or  two  exceptions, 
had  been  engaged  in  civil  affairs  for  thirty  years  ;  and 
men  competent  to  drill  the  recruits  were  not  to  be  found. 
To  remedy  this  want,  Congress,  now  for  the  first  time, 
made  provision  for  the  constant  and  liberal  instruction  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  cadets  in  the  military  art,  by  estab- 
lishing professorships  in  the  Academy  at  West  Point. 
Here  was  another  instance  of  the  foresight  of  Washing- 
ton. He  had,  during  his  administration,  urged  upon  Con- 
gress to  establish  and  maintain  a  school  in  which  military 
tactics  should  be  taught  to  officers,  who  in  turn  «ould 
easily  drill  the  militia.  The  wise  policy  of  the  measure 
was  amply  shown  in  the  rapidity  with  which  the  American 
volunteers  were  drilled  and  made  efficient  soldiers  in  the 
late  Mexican  war.  But  for  the  present  the  nation  suffered  1846. 
severely  from  false  economy  in  not  founding  the  Academy 
when  first  proposed. 

The  first  exhibition  of  the  war  spirit  and  the  party 


586  HISTOEY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  feeling  which  existed  was  an  attempt  to  stifle  the  freedom  of 

the  press.     The  editor  of  a  paper  in  Baltimore,  Alexander 

1812.  Hanson,  a.  grandson  of  a  president  of  the  continental  con- 
gress, had  spoken  in  moderate  terms  in  condemnation  of  the 
June  declaration  of  war.  A  few  days  after,  the  mob,  headed  by 
a  Frenchman,  destroyed  his  press  and  compelled  him  to 
fly  for  his  life.  Keceiving  no  protection  in  his  rights,  as 
the  magistrates  connived  at  the  outrage,  Hanson  and  some 
twenty  others  thought  it  their  duty  to  vindicate  the 
liberty  of  the  press.  Among  this  number  was  General 
Henry  Lee, — the  chivalric  Light  Horse  Harry  of  the  E-2V- 
olution, — the  intimate  friend  of  Washington,  his  eulo- 
gist by  appointment  of  Congress,  afterward  Governor  of 
Virginia,  and  General  Lingan,  also  a  worthy  officer  of  the 
Kevolution.  They  determined  to  defend  the  office  of  the 
paper.  The  mob  appeared  and  stoned  the  house  ;  the 
magistrates  meanwhile  made  no  effort  to  quell  the  riot. 
Thus  the  rabble  raged  during  the  night  ;  in  their  attempts 
to  force  their  way  into  the  house,  one  of  the  ringleaders 
was  shot.  General  Lingan  was  killed  outright,  and  some 
of  the  other  defenders  of  the  office  were  most  shamefully 
mangled  and  abused.  General  Lee  was  maimed  for  life. 
The  leaders  of  the  riot  were  never  punished,  though 
afterwards  brought  to  trial, — a  mere  farce, — the  district 
attorney  even  expressing  his  regret  that  all  the  defenders 
of  the  office  had  not  been  killed. 

'  General  William  Hull,  who  had  served  with  some  dis- 
tinction in  the  Kevolution,  and  now  Governor  of  Michigan 
Territory,  was  appointed  commander  of  the  forces  in  that 
region.  The  Territory  contained  about  five  thousand  in- 
habitants, mostly  of  French  origin.  He  received  orders  to 
invade  Canada,  the  ardent  friends  of  the  war  complacently 
thinking  the  inhabitants  of  that  British  province  would 
cheerfully  put  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the 
stars  and  stripes.  Hull,  however,  found  himself  in  a  short 
time  surrounded  by  a  superior  force  of  British  and  In- 


' 


GENERAL  HULL  SURRENDERS  HIS  ARMY.          587 


dians  ;  the  enemy  also  held  possession  of  Lake  Erie,  and 
had  easy  communication  with  the  rest  of  Canada,  while 
between  Hull's  army  and  the  settlements,  intervened  a  1812. 
vast  and  unbroken  forest  of  two  hundred  miles.  He 
urged  upon  the  government  to  secure  the  command  of  the 
Lake  before  any  attempt  should  be  made  at  invasion,  and 
also  to  furnish  him  not  less  than  three  thousand  well  pro- 
visioned troops.  But  he  was  told  that  he  must  content 
himself  with  two  thousand  men,  while  nothing  could  be 
done  to  secure  the  control  of  the  Lake. 

When  Hull  arrived  at  DETROIT,  then  a  village  of  some  July 
eight  hundred  inhabitants,  he  had  but  eighteen  hundred 
men,  of  whom  the  greater  part  were  militia  ;  there  he  re- 
ceived orders  to  invade  Canada  immediately.  But  by  a 
strange  blunder,  the  intelligence  of  the  declaration  of  war, 
designed  for  Hull,  and  franked  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British.  They  availed 
themselves  of  the  information,  and  immediately  seized  Mackr 
in  aw  ;  the  first  intimation  the  garrison  of  that  distant  post 
received  of  the  declaration  of  war.  In  a  short  time  Hull 
himself  was  surrounded,  and  his  communications  cut  off. 

The  British  general  Proctor  came  up  the  Lake  with 
reinforcements,  whilst  the  British  Fur  Company  enlisted 
their  employees  and  excited  the  Indians.  To  open  a  road 
and  obtain  supplies,  Hull  sent  out  a  detachment,  but  it 
fell  into  an  ambuscade  and  was  defeated.  He  now  fortified 
himself,  and  to  open  communications  to  the  river  Kaisin, 
sent  another  detachment  under  Colonels  McArthur  and 
Cass  ;  they  became  bewildered  in  a  swamp,  and  were  forced  Aug. 
to  find  their  way  back  to  the  camp. 

Presently  General  Brock,  governor  of  Lower  Canada, 
arrived  at  Maiden  with  more  reinforcements.  He  passed 
over  the  river  and  summoned  Hull  to  surrender,  who  re- 
fused, and  an  attack  was  made  upon  his  position,  both 
from  the  British  vessels  and  batteries.  Brock  landed  and 
approached  with  seven  hundred  and  fifty  regulars,  and  as 

'    *   •• 


588  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


many  Indians.     Hull  had  but  eight  hundred  men,  and, 
threatened  with  destruction,  as  he  imagined,  by  an  over- 


1812.    whelming  force,  he  surrendered  his  army  and  all  Michigan 

Aug.    at  the  same  time. 

Great  indignation  was  expressed  at  this  failure.  The 
difficulties  of  Hull's  position  were  very  great,  and  perhaps, 
while  no  one  doubted  his  personal  courage,  he  may  have 
wanted  that  sternness  of  soul  so  necessary  to  a  successful 
commander.  Those  in  authority  screened  themselves,  by 
making  the  unfortunate  general  the  scape-goat  for  their 
blunders,  in  sending  him  with  a  force  and  means  so  inade- 
quate. When  brought  to  trial,  two  years  afterward,  he 
urged  in  defence,  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  territory 
would  have  been  exposed  to  certain  massacre  had  he  at- 
tempted further  resistance.  The  court,  however,  found 
him  guilty  of  cowardice,  and  sentenced  him  to  be  shot  ; 
but  in  consideration  of  his  revolutionary  services,  the  Presi- 
dent granted  him  a  pardon.  His  papers,  since  published, 
have  revealed  the  insurmountable  difficulties  that  sur- 
rounded him. 

It  is  remarkable  that  one  of  the  causes  of  the  war,  was 
removed  within  four  days  after  its  declaration.  France 
unconditionally  repealed  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees, 
then  Great  Britain  repealed  her  Orders  in  Council,  which 
had  been  based  on  the  French  decrees.  The  impressment 
\  question  still  remained  unsettled.  Nearly  six  thousand 
cases  of  alleged  impressment  were  on  record  in  the  State 
Department  at  Washington.  It  was  admitted  on  the 
floor  of  the  House  of  Commons,  that  there  were  probably 
sixteen  hundred  native-born  Americans  held  in  bondage 
in  the  British  navy.  Of  these  several  hundred  had  already 
been  liberated,  and  a  willingness  was  expressed  to  dis- 
charge the  remainder,  as  soon  as  their  nationality  was 
fully  known.  But  the  British  naval  officers  complained 
that  the^lea  of  American  citizenship  was  very  much 
abused  ;  by  forged  documents,  or  by  certificates,  originally 

A. 

* 


AMERICAN    SHIPS   IN    ENGLISH   POETS.  589 

genuine,  but  transferred  from  one  seaman  to  another  as  oc-  CHAP. 

casion  required.  The  English  government,  moreover,  was  so  , 1 

trammelled  by  forms  that  very  seldom  could  the  impressed   1812. 
sailor  obtain  redress  ;  all  such  cases  must  be  brought  be- 
fore the  Court  of  Admiralty  in  London,  to  reach  which 
was  almost  impossible. 

This,  after  all,  was  to  be  a  war  to  protect  personal  free- 
dom ;  to  obtain  security  from  the  visits  to  our  ships  of 
British  press-gangs,  led  by  insolent  officers,  and  as  such 
took  hold  of  the  sympathies  of  the  American  people. 
But  Britain  said,  pass  a  law  prohibiting  our  seamen  from 
enlisting  in  your  service,  and  we  will  not  search  your 
ships.  The  reply  was,  the  flag  of  the  United  States  must 
shield  those  seeking  its  protection.  This  sentiment  ap- 
peared to  England  very  like  an  effort  to  seduce  her  sea- 
men from  their  allegiance. 

When  intelligence  of  the  declaration  of  war  reached 
England,  the  government  acted  generously  in  relation  to 
the  American  vessels  in  its  ports.  Instead  of  being  con-  Aug. 
fiscated  as  in  France,  these  ships  were  permitted  six 
weeks  to  load  and  unload,  and  in  addition  were  furnished 
with  protections  against  capture  by  English  cruisers  on 
their  way  home.  Yet  these  very  vessels  and  their  car- 
goes were  liable  to  confiscation,  when  they  should  arrive 
in  their  own  land,  and  that  by  a  law  of  Congress  ! 

As  one  of  the  causes  of  the  war  had  been  removed, 
Foster,  the  British  Minister  at  Washington,  proposed  a 
cessation  of  hostilities  until  another  effort  should  be  made 
to  arrange  the  impressment  question.  This  proposal  was 
not  accepted  by  the  American  government.  Not  until 
all  hope  of  reconciliation  was  passed,  did  the  English  au- 
thorities issue  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  against 
American  commerce  ;  and  they  still  continued  to  grant 
licenses  and  protection  to  American  vessels  carrying  flour 
to  Spain  for  the  use  of  the  British  armies  in  that  country. 

Hull's  surrender  threw  a  shactow  over  the  prospect  of 

.         • 

* 


i 


jr 

590  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

t 

CHAP,  conquering  Canada.     Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  in- 

A.L1I. 

crease  the  army  on  the  frontiers  of  New  York.     Major 

1812.  General  Dearborn,  who,  when  a  youth,  had  served  in  the 
Revolution,  and  had  been  Secretary  of  War,  under  Jeffer- 
son, had  under  his  command,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  five  thousand  troops,  three  thousand  of  whom  were 
regulars  ;  and  two  thousand  militia  were  stationed  at 
different  points  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  east  of  Sackett's 
Harbor,  while  another  army,  miscellaneous  in  character, 
being  composed  of  regulars,  volunteers  and  militia,  was 
stationed  at  different  points  from  the  village  of  Buffalo  to 
Fort  Niagara.  The  latter  troops  were  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Van  Kensselaer. 

To  insure  'success  the  Americans  must  have  the  con- 
trol of  the  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario  ;  on  the  latter  they 
had  already  a  little  sloop-of-war,  of  sixteen  guns,  and 
manned  by  a  regular  crew.  Captain  Chauncey,  of  the 

Sept.  navy  yard  at  New  York,  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Lakes.  He  purchased  some  merchant  vessels,  and 
fitted  them  out  with  guns  and  other  equipments,  brought 
from  Albany,  at  an  immense  amount  of  labor.  He  soon 
however  swept  the  Lake  of  British  ships,  which  took 
refuge  in  Kingston  harbor  ;  the  Frontenae  of  the  times  of 
French  rule  in  that  quarter.  Lieutenant  Elliot,  in  the 
mean  time,  was  sent  to,  equip  a  fleet  on  Lake  Erie.  By 
a  daring  exploit  he  cut  out  from  under  the  guns  of  Fort 

Qctt     Erie,  two  British  armed  vessels,  which  had  just  come 
<;*       9-      down  the  Lake  from  Detroit. 

The  invasion  of  Canada  commenced  by  an  attempt  to 
obtain  possession  of  Queenstown,  on  Niagara  river.  Owing 
to  a  deficiency  of  boats,  only  about  six  hundred  men, 
p*artly  regulars  and  partly  militia,  passed  over.  Cornel 
S.  Van  Rensselaer,  who  commanded  the  militia,  became 
separated  from  his  men,  and  Colonel  Christie,  who  com- 
manded the  regulars,  failed  on  account  of  the  rapidity  of 

*        the  current  to  reach  tl^  shore.     Those  who  landed  were 

•  *  .  • 


DEATH    OF    GENERAL    BROCK — AMERICAN   PRISONERS.  591 

immediately  attacked  with  great  vigor.     Eensselaer  soon 

fell,  wounded,  but  he  ordered  Captains  Ogilvie  and  Wool 

to   storm    the   battery,  which    they  did   in  fine   style,    1812. 

driving  the  British  into  a  strong  stone  house,  from  which 

they  could  not  be  dislodged.      General  Brock,  the  same 

to  .whom   Hull   surrendered   a   few   months  before,  was     Oct. 

13 

in  command.  Suddenly  he  headed  a  sortie  from  this 
house,  which  was  promptly  repulsed,  and  he  himself 
slain. 

During  this  time,  a  space  of  five  or  six  hours,  the 
Americans  were  striving  to  pass  the  river,  but  only  five 
or  six  hundred  succeeded.  Suddenly  a  band  of  Indians 
emerged  from  the  woods,  and  joined  in  the  fray  ;  these 
were  soon  put  to  flight  by  Lieutenant  Winfield  Scott, 
who,  with  a  company  of  regulars,  volunteered  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  want  of  boats,  and  the  want  of  system,  had 
prevented  a  suitable  number  of  Americans  .from  *  passing 
over.  In  the  mean  while  General  Sheafe  was  advancing 
from  Fort  George,  with  reinforcements  for  the  British. 
This  intelligence,  together  with  the  sight  of  the  wounded, 
who  were  brougham  boats  to  the  American  side,  somewhat 
cooled  the  ardor  of  the  militia,  and  they  refused  to  pass 
the  river  to  aid  their  countrymen.  Their  wits  were  also 
sharpened,  and  they  suddenly  discovered  that  their  com- 
mander had  no  constitutional  authority  to  lead  them  into 
Canada.  The  result  was,  that  those  who  had  gone  over, 
about  one  thousand  in  number,  were  compelled  to  surren- 
der themselves  prisoners  of  war.  General  Van  Rensselaer, 
mortified  at  the  want  of  spirit  manifested  on  the  occasion, 
resigned  his  command  in  disgust. 

Inefficiency  reigned  in  triumph  all  along  the  frontier. 
An  expedition  against  Detroit,  under  the  command  of 
Harrison,  was  abandoned  for  want  of  means.  The  volun- 
teers from  Kentucky,  as  well  as  others,  became  mutinous 
and  refused  to  advance.  One  failure  followed^  another  in 

id   succession.      The  officers  ^ere  quarreling 


ra 


592  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  themselves,   charging   each   other  with   cowardice,    and 

1  fighting  bloodless   duels,  while  the  soldiers  deserted  in 

1812.  bands,  and  those  who  remained  were  insubordinate. 
These  failures  were  unsparingly  ridiculed  in  the  news- 
papers opposed  to  the  war,  undertaken  as  it  was  without 
sufficient  preparation. 


«,*• 


M  UP* 
«'  * 

:'ir' 


« 


4f** 
^V.    * 


*  * 

<* 


T 

<.**#&* 

'      '  *  ' 

•  •      •  .  r 

*  ''* 

t  '     .V.*  • 

CHAPTEK    XLII1. 

MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

The  Vessels  of  the  Navy.— The  chase  of  the  Censtitution.— Capture  of  the 
Alert. — The  Guerriere. — Incidents. — The  Macedonian. — The  Frolic. — 
The  Java.— The  effects  of  these  Naval  Conflicts  in  the  United  States 
and  England. — Plan  of  Operations. — Harrison  advances  on  Detroit^- 
General  Winchester  a  Prisoner ;  Indian  Barbarities. — The  Kentuckians 
fall  into  an  Ambuscade. — Repulse  at  Fort  Stephenson. — The  loss  of  the 
Chesapeake. — Perry's  Victory. — Battle  of  the  Thames. — Andrew  Jack- 
son.— Leads  an  Expedition ;  its  Termination. — York  captured ;  Death 
of  General  Pike. — Wilkinson  transferred  to  the  North. — Another  at- 
tempt to  conquer  Canada. — Fort  George  destroyed  ;  Newark  burned. — 
The  severe  Retaliation. — The  American  Coast  blockaded. — Ravages  on 
the  Shores  of  Chesapeake  Bay. — Indian  War  in  the  South. — Jackson 
and  others  in  the  Field. — Battle  at  the  Great  Horse  Shoe. — Captain 
Porter's  Cruise. 

WHILE  the  disasters  recorded  in  the  last  chapter  were  CHAP. 
in  progress,  the  despised  little  navy  had  won  laurels,  by  a  ^ 
series  of  victories  as  unexpected  as  they  were  glorious.    18i2. 
When  the  war  commenced,  the  whole  navy  of  the  United 
States  in  commission,  consisted  of  only  three  first-class 
frigates  ;  the  President,  the  Constitution,  ancj  the  United 
States  ;  of  the  second  class  two,  the  Congress  and  the 
Essex ;  the  Wasp  and  Hornet,  sloops-of-war  ;   and  the 
brigs   Argus,    Syren,   Nautilus,   Enterprise,   and   Yixen. 
The  second  class  frigates  Chesapeake,  Constellation,  and 
John  Adams,  were  undergoing  repairs.     The  fleet  was 
ordered  to  assemble  at  New  York  to  be  in  readiness  to 
defend  harbors,  and  not?  to  venture  to  sea,  lest  it  should 
38 


V 


594  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

mds  of  the  enemy  ;  a  result  which  had  been 

predicted  again  and  again.     Owing  to  the  urgent  remon- 

1812.  strances  of  tlap tains  Stewart  and  Bainbridge,  the  intention 
of  thus  withdrawing  the  navy  was  abandoned.  Within  a 
few  hours  after  the  declaration  of  war  was  known  in  New 
York,  a  portion  of  the  fleet  was  passing  out  to  sea,  in 
search  of  the  enemy.  This  prompt  movement  was  made 
for  the  double  purpose  of  avoiding  the  orders,  which  the 
officers  suspected  were  on  the  way  from  Washington,  to 
detain  them  in  the  harbor,  and  to  make  a  dash  at  the 
Jamaica  fleet,  said  to  be  passing  under  convoy  off  the  coast. 
*  When  two  days  out,  they  chased  and  exchanged  shots 
with  the  British  frigate  Belvidera,  which,  however,  escaped 
and  carried  the  news  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities 
to  Halifax.  The  Americans  continued  the  pursuit  of  the 
Jamaica  fleet,  even  to  the  entrance  of  the  British  Channel, 
but  without  overtaking  it. 

Meanwhile  a  British  squadron  issued  from  Halifax,  to 
cruise  off  the  port  of  New  York.  The  Constitution,  better 
known  as  Old  Ironsides,  commanded  by  Captain  Isaac 
Hull,  in  endeavoring  to  enter  that  port  fell  in  with  this 
fleet,  and  was  chased  by  all  its  vessels  for  four  days — the 
•  4^  most  remarkable  chase  on  record.  The  unexampled  skill 

«with  which  she  was  managed,  elicited  universal  admira- 
/.  tion.  Every  nautical  device  was  exhausted  ;  such  as 
during  a  calm  carrying  out  anchors  and  dropping  them, 
and  then  pulling  the  ship  up  ;  in  the  mean  while,  when 
opportunity  served,  exchanging  shots  with  her  adversaries. 
Finally  she  escaped  into  Boston.  Orders  from  Washing- 
ton were  sent  to  Captain  Hull  to  remain  there  ;  but  he 
anticipated  them,  and  put  to  sea  before  they  arrived. 

The  Essex  was  the  first  to  capture  a  prize — a  trans- 
it filled  with  soldiers — and  shortly  after,  the  British 
loop-of-war  Alert.     The  latter  mistook  the  Essex  for  a 
merchantman,  and  came  on  expecting  an  easy  victory,  but 

4 


Z 


I 

*  * 

CAPTURE    OF    THE    GUEBRIERE INCIDENTS.  595 

* 

found  herself  so  severely  handled,  that  in  alfew  minutes  CHAP. 
she  was  fain  to  strike  her  colors.  

Off  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  Captain  Hull  fell  1812. 
in  with  the  British  frigate  Guerriere,  one  of  the  fleet 
which  had  recently  chased  him.  The  Guerriere  was  on 
the  look-out  for  "  Yankee  craft ; "  on  one  of  her  flags  was 
the  inscription,  Not  the  Little  Belt.  Courting  the  combat, 
she  shortened  sail,  and  at  long  range  opened  upon  the 
approaching  Constitution  ;  the  latter  did  not  fire  a  gun, 
but  manoeuvred  to  obtain  a  desirable  position.  Thus  an 
hour  and  a  half  was  consumed.  When  the  Constitution 
secured  her  position,  she  poured  in  her  broadsides  with 
such  rapidity  and  effect,  that  the  enemy  struck  his  colors 
in  thirty  minutes.  So  completely  was  the  Guerriere  cut 
to  pieces,  that  it  was  impossible  to  bring  her  into  port, 
and  Hull  ordered  her  to  be  burned.  The  Guerriere  had 
seventy-nine  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  Constitution 
had  only  seven,  and  was  ready  for  action  the  next  day. 
In  connection  with  this  encounter  may  be  related  two  in- 
cidents, which  show  the  spirit  on  board  the  respective 
ships.  When  the  Constitution  came  within  cannon-shot, 
the  opening  fire  from  the  Guerriere  killed  two  men.  The 
men  were  impatient  to  avenge  their  companions,  and 
Lieutenant  Morris  came  on  deck,  and  asked,  "  Can  we  re- 
turn  the  fire,  sir  ?  "  "  No,  sir/'  calmly  replied  Hull.  Soon 
after,  Morris  came  again,  and  reported  that  another  man 
was  slain,  and  asked  again,  "  Shall  we  return  the  fire?" 
"  No,  sir,"  was  still  the  reply.  For  the  third  time,  Morris 
soon  appeared  :  "  Can  we  fire  now  ?  "  Hull,  pausing  a  mo- 
ment to  survey  the  position  of  the  ships,  replied,  "  Yes,  sir, 
you  majjfire  now."  The  order  was  promptly  obeyed,  and 
Hull,  with  his  eye  intently  fixed  upon  the  enemy,  ex- 
claimed, when  he  saw  the  effect,  "  That  ship  is  ours  !  " 

On  board  the  Guerriere  were  ten  impressed  Americans. 
They  refused  to  fight  against  their  countrymen,  and  were 
ordered  below.  One  of  them  was  afterward  called  upon 


«    * 


596  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


XLm'  ^eck>  an(*  as^e(^  ky  Captain  Dacres  if  he  knew  the  char- 
_  acter  of  the  approaching  ship.     He  answered  she  was  a 

1812.  frigate.  As  she  drew  nearer,  and  merety  manoeuvred,  and 
made  no  reply  with  her  guns,  Dacres,  somewhat  puzzled, 
inquired  again,  "  What  does  she  mean  ?  Do  you  think  she  is 
going  to  strike  without  firing  a  gun  ?  "  "I  guess  not,  sir," 
replied  the  American;  "she  will  get  the  position  she 
wants,  and  you  will  then  learn  her  intentions  ;  with  your 
permission,  sir,  I  will  step  below." 

The  United  States,  Captain  Decatur,  when  cruising 
off  the  Azores,  gave  chase  to  a  British  frigate,  which 
proved  to  be  the  Macedonian.  A  running  fight  com- 

Oct.     menced,  which  terminated  by  the  Macedonian  striking  her 

23>  colors,  after  losing  one  hundred  out  of  her  three  hundred 
men,  while  the  United  States  lost  only  five  men  and  seven 
wounded.  The  other  ships  made  several  prizes  on  their 
cruise.  The  Argus  escaped  by  superior  seamanship,  after 
being  chased  three  days  by  six  vessels,  and  took  and 
manned  a  prize  during  the  chase.  The  Wasp,  Captain 
Jones,  met  the  British  brig  Frolic,  acting  as  a  convoy  for 
six  merchantmen  ;  to  protect  them  she  shortened  sail  and 
offered  battle.  The  Wasp  watched  her  opportunity, 
^  ^  Oct.  raked  her  antagonist,  and  then  immediately  boarded.  The 
boarders  found  the  deck  of  the  Frolic  covered  with  the 
slain,  and  only  one  man  unhurt,  who  was  calmly  standing 
at  the  wheel,  and  one  or  two  wounded  officers,  who  threw 
down  their  swords.  Not  twenty  of  the  crew  were  unhurt. 
The  Wasp  had  only  five  killed  and  as  many  wounded. 
But  before  she  could  make  sail,  the  Poictiers  seventy-four 
came  up,  and  took  both  vessels. 

Hull  resigned  the  command  of  the  Constitution,  and 
Bainbridge  was  appointed  in  his  place.  Off  the  coast  of 
Brazil  the  Constitution  gave  chase  to  a  British  frigate, 
the  Java.  The  fight  began  at  the  distance  of  a  mile,  and 
was  continued  with  great  spirit,  each  manoeuvring  to  get 

*       the  advantage.     At  length  they  approached  so  closely 


_ 


*• 


I 

EFFECTS    PRODUCED    BY    THE    NAVAL    VICTORIES.  597 


to   fight    yard-arm   and  yard-arm.      The  Java's   masts 
were  shot  away,  and  her  fire  silenced.     The  Constitution 
drew  off  to  repair  her  rigging,  and  then  approached  to    1813. 
renew  the  conflict,  which  the  Java  prevented  by  striking 
her  flag.     Nearly  half  of  her  men,  numbering  four  hun- 
dred, were  killed  or  wounded,  while  the  Constitution  had 
only  nine  killed  and  twenty-five  wounded  ;    among  the    Jan- 
latter  was  her  commander.     There  being  no  friendly  port 
in  that  part  of  the  world  to  which  he  could  take  his  prize, 
Bainbridge  ordered  her  to  be  set  on  fire  and  blown  up. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  exultation  with  which 
these  victories  were  hailed  in  the  United  States.  The 
very  great  disparity  in  the  losses  sustained  by  the  respect- 
ive combatants  had  excited  surprise  in  both  nations. 
The  English  loss  of  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  compared 
with  that  of  the  Americans,  was  as  eight  to  one.  There 
could  be  no  doubt  but  the  ships  of  the  latter  had  been 
better  managed  and  better  fought.  The  English  people, 
we  learn  from  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  were  deeply  mor- 
tified at  the  loss  of  their  frigates.  One  of  the  papers  asked, 
"  Shall  England,  the  mistress  of  the  seas  and  dictator  of 
the  maritime  law  of  nations,  be  driven  from  her  proud 
eminence  by  a  piece  of  striped  bunting  flying  at  the  mast- 
heads of  a  few  fir-built  frigates,  manned  by  a  handful  of 
bastards  and  outlaws  ?  "  Some  were  thus  abusive,  but 
others  were  more  respectful,  and  even  found  consolation  in 
the  fact  that  the  Americans  were  the  descendants  of 
Englishmen.  Says  the  London  Times  :  "  We  witnessed 
the  gloom  which  that  event  (the  capture  of  the  Guerriere) 
cast  over  high  and  honorable  minds  ;  it  is  not  merely  that 
an  English  frigate  has  been  taken  after  a  brave  resistance, 
but  it  has  been  by  a  new  enemy."  And  apprehensions 
were  expressed  that  their  maritime  superiority  was  about 
to  be  challenged,  if  not  taken  away,  by  this  new  rival, 
which  had  so  suddenly  sprung  into  existence.  '  The 
mourning  for  this  last  most  affecting  event,  (the  capture  ^ 


598  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

x?m'  °^  ^e  ^ava?)  can  never  be  laid  aside  till  the  honor 

of  the   British   flag   shall  be  redeemed,  by  establishing 

1813.  the  same  triumphant  superiority  over  the  Americans 
that  we  have  heretofore  had  over  all  the  nations  that  tra- 
verse the  seas.  Five  hundred  British  vessels  and  three 
frigates  have  been  captured  in  seven^months  by  the 
Americans.  Can  the  English  people  heJRhis  unmoved  ? 
Down  to  this  moment  not  an  American  frigate  has  struck 
her  flag.  They  insult  and  laugh  at  us  ;  they  leave  their 
ports  when  they  please  ;  and  return  when  it  suits  their 
convenience  ;  they  traverse  the  Atlantic  ;  they  beset  the 
West  India  Islands  ;  they  advance  to  the  very  chops  of 
the  Channel  ;  they  parade  along  the  coast  of  South 
America  ;  nothing  chases,  nothing  intercepts,  nothing 
engages  them,  but  yields  to  them  a  triumph/' 

To  account  for  these  unexampled  victories,  some  said 
the  American  frigates  were  Seventy-fours  in  disguise  ; 
others  that  their  guns  were  heavier  than  those  of  their  op- 
ponents. The  latter  supposition  may  have  been  true  to 
some  extent.  But  national  self-complacency  found  more 
consolation  in  the  conjecture,  that  the  spirit  of  the  Ameri- 
can navy  ought  to  be  imputed  to  the  few  runaway  British 
sailors  enlisted  in  it ! 

The  American  privateers  maintained  the  honor  of  the 
nation  as  much  as  the  regular  navy.  Much  more  would 
have  been  accomplished,  but  the  majority  of  the  mer- 
chants were  loth  to  send  privateers  to  prey  upon  the  prop- 
erty of  their  commercial  friends  and  correspondents.  As 
it  was,  more  than  three  hundred  prizes  were  taken,  three 
thousand  prisoners,  and  a  vast  amount  of  merchandise. 

Changes  were  made  in  the  President's  cabinet.  Gen- 
eral John  Armstrong — the  author  of  the  famous  Anony- 
mous Address,  at  the  close  of  the  Kevolution — was  ap- 
pointed Secretary  of  War  in  place  of  William  Eustis,  of 
Massachusetts,  resigned.  James  Monroe  still  remained 


* 


THE    ARMIES — THE   DISASTER    AT    THE   RAISIN.  599 

at  the  head  of  the  State  Department,  and  Albert  Galla-  CHAP. 

tin  at  that  of  the  Treasury,  an  office  which  he  held  under  1 

Jefferson.  1813. 

The  surrender  of  Hull  aroused  the  warlike  spirit  of  the 
West,  and  volunteers  presented  themselves  in  great  num- 
bers. The  Americans  were  divided  into  three  armies.  ^ 
That  of  the  west,  at  the.  head  of  Lake  Erie,  under  General 
Harrison  ;  that  of  the  centre,  between  Lakes  Erie  and 
Ontario,  under  General  Dearborn,  and  that  of  the  north 
in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Champlain,  under  General  Wade 
Hampton.  A  similar  arrangement  was  made  by  the 
British.  Sir  George  Prevost  was  in  chief  command  of 
the  forces  in  Canada,  General  Proctor  commanded  the 
troops  stationed  near  Detroit,  and  General  Sheafe  those 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Montreal  and  the  Sorel  river. 

To  recover  what  Hull  had  lost,  Harrison  moved  toward 
Detroit  and  Maiden  ;  meantime  General  Winchester  ad- 
vanced with  eight  hundred  volunteers,  chiefly  young  men 
from  Kentucky.  That  State  swarmed  with  soldiers, 
drawn  from  every  rank  in  society.  As  he  drew  near  the 
Maumee  Kapids,  Winchester  learned  that  a  body  of  Brit- 
ish and  Indians  was  in  possession  of  Frenchtown,  on  the 
river  Kaisin.  He  sent  a  detachment,  which  routed  the 
enemy,  and  maintained  its  position  until  he  himself  came 
up.  When  General  Proctor  learned  of  the  approach  of 
Winchester,  he  hastened  across  the  lake  on  the  ice  from 
Maiden,  with  fifteen  hundred  British  and  Indians,  to  cut 
him  off,  before  Harrison  could  give  aid.  The  attack  was  Jan. 
made  on  the  American  camp  before  daylight.  In  the 
midst  of  the  confusion  Winchester  was  taken  prisoner. 
Proctor  promised  him  security  for  the  safety  of  his  men* 
and  thus  induced  him  to  surrender  them  as  prisoners. 
Fearing  the  approach  of  Harrison,  Proctor  retreated  as  I 
rapidly  as  possible  to  Maiden,  and  m  violation  of  his 
pledges,  he  left  the  wounded  Americans. 

The  Indians  turned  back  and  murdered  great  numbers 


* 


600  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


XLm'  °^  *nemj  and  carried  the  remainder  to  Detroit  ;  for  some 

_  of  these  they  demanded  enormous  ransoms,  and  others 

1813.    they  reserved  for  tortures.     The  conduct  of  Proctor,  in 

thus  breaking  his  word,  and  violating  the  principles  of 

^^  common  humanity,  excited  against  the  enemy  the  bitterest 

feelings  of  revenge.     u  Kemember  the  Kaisin  !  "  became 

the  war-cry  of  the  Kentuckians. 

Harrison  advanced  to  the  rapids,  and  there  established 
a  post,  which  in  honor  of  the  Governor  of  Ohio,  he  named 
Fort  Meigs.  There  he  was  besieged,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  months,  by  a  large  force  of  British  and  their  Indian 
allies.  Learning  that  General  Green  Clay,  of  Kentucky, 
was  descending  the  Maumee  with  twelve  hundred  men  in 
boats,  Harrison  sent  orders  for  half  the  men  to  land  and 
seize  the  enemy's  batteries  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
spike  their  guns,  and  then  come  to  the  Fort,  whence  a 
sortie  was  to  be  made  against  the  main  batteries  on  the 
south  side.  The  first  order  was  fulfilled,  and  the  British 
routed  ;  but  instead  of  hastening  to  the  Fort,  the  Ken- 
tuckians became  unmanageable,  and  pursued  a  few  In- 
dians, who  led  them  into  an  ambuscade  prepared  by  the 
cunning  Tecumseh.  They  were  in  turn  routed  by  the 
Indians  and  a  detachment  of  British  soldiers,  and  of  the 
Kentuckians  only  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  escaped. 
Nevertheless  Proctor  was  alarmed  ;  the  force  of  the  Ameri- 
cans was  unknown,  and  as  the  Indians  began  to  desert, 
he  commenced  a  hurried  retreat  across  the  lake  to  Maiden. 
Two  months  after^  Proctor  again  appeared  before  Fort 
Meigs,  now  under  the  command  of  Clay.  Not  able  to 
take  it,  and  having  learned  that  Fort  Stephenson,  on  the 
Sandusky,  had  a  small  garrison,  Proctor  left  Tecumseh 
with  his  Indians  to  besiege  Fort  Meigs,  while  he  himself 
went  against  Fort  Stephenson.  This  fort  had  a  garrison 
of  only  one  hundred  and  sixty  young  men,  commanded 
by  Major  George  Croghan,  a  youth  in  his  twenty-second 
year.  When  summoned  to  surrender,  he  replied  that  he 
%  * 

* 


THE   LOSS   OF    THE    CHESAPEAKE.  601 

should  defend  the  fort  till  the  last  man  was  buried  in  its 


ruins.     The  siege  commenced,  and  when  a  breach  was  _  1 
made,  the  British  regulars,  at  the  word  of  their  Colonel,    1813. 
who  cried  out,  "  Come  on,  give  the  Yankees  no  quarter/' 
rushed  to  the  assault.     As  they  crowded  into  the  ditch, 
the  only  cannon  in  the  fort  opened  from  a  masked  port 
hole.     The  gun  was  loaded  with  a  double  charge  of  musket    Aug>   • 
balls  ;  the  effect  was  terrific,  the  enemy  fled  in  confusion, 
and  abandoned  the  siege.     The  Indians  at  the  first  repulse 
deserted,  as  usual. 

Meanwhile  there  had  been  other  conflicts  at  sea. 
Captain  James  Lawrence,  in  command  of  the  Hornet,  had 
captured  the  Peacock  off  the  coast  of  South  America.  Feb. 
The  ships  were  equal  in  size  and  equipments.  The  action 
lasted  but  fifteen  minutes.  The  Peacock  raised  signals  of 
distress,  for  she  was  sinking  rapidly,  and  in  spite  of  the 
efforts  of  both  crews  she  went  down,  carrying  with  her 
some  of  her  own  men  and  three  of  the  Hornet's.  On  his 
return,  Lawrence  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
frigate  Chesapeake,  then  in  Boston  harbor,  undergoing 
repairs  and  enlisting  a  crew. 

The  British  frigate  Shannon,  Captain  Broke,  had  ap- 
peared off  the  harbor  as  if  offering  a  challenge.     The  im-    • 
petuous  Lawrence  put  to  sea,  notwithstanding  the  de- 
ficiency of  his  crew,  some  of  whom  were  much  dissatisfied 
on  account  of  back  arrearages  of  prize  money  of  a  former 
cruise.     The  ship  was  also  deficient  in  officers,  the  first 
lieutenant  being  unable  from  illness  to  go  on  board.     The 
contest  was  witnessed  by  thousands  from  the  hills  and    June* 
house  tops.     When  the  ships  met,  the  Chesapeake  be-    £ 
came  entangled  with  the  Shannon  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
be  exposed  to  a  raking  fire.     Lawrence,  mortally  wounded 
at  the  commencement  of  the  battle,  was  carried  below. 
This  created   confusion   for   a  few  minutes,  and  Broke 
noticing  that  the  fire  had  slackened,  promptly  gave  orders 
to  board,   leading    the    men    himself.      The   American 

* 

- 


602  HISTOET   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

XLm*  Boarders  had  just  been  called,  and  but  few  of  them  were 

'.  yet  upon  deck  ;  after  a  hand  to  hand  fight,  the  Chesa- 

1813.  peake's  colors  were  hauled  down.  The  captor  sailed  im- 
mediately to  Halifax.  There  Captain  Lawrence  died, 
He  was  billed  with  military  honors  and  marks  of  respect. 
Afterward  his  remains  were  removed  to  New  York.  His 
last  command,  "  Don't  give  up  the  ship,"  has  become  the 
watchword  in  the  American  navy. 

The  rejoicings  in  England  over  the  capture  of  the 
Chesapeake  were  so  great  -as  to  become  highly  compli- 
mentary to  the  Americans,  to  whom  they  were  as  gratify- 
ing as  if  the  Shannon  had  been  captured.  It  was  an  un- 
equivocal evidence  of  the  respect  that  the  navy  had  inspired. 
The  same  spirit  which  had  done  so  much  honor  to  the 
nation  on  the  ocean,  displayed  itself  on  the  lakes.  The 
random  incursions  of  undisciplined  volunteers  accom- 
plished nothing  until  the  control  of  the  lakes  was  secured. 
A  youthful  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  navy,  Oliver 
Hazard  Perry,  a  native  of  Newport,  Khode  Island,  volun- 
teered for  that  service.  Commodore  Chauncey  appointed 
him  to  the  command  of  the  fleet  on  Lake  Erie.  After 
much  labor,  Perry  built  and  fitted  out  at  the  port  of  Erie, 
m  nine  vessels  of  various  sizes,  from  one  carrying  twenty- 
five  guns  down  to  those  which  carried  only  one.  The 
American  fleet  had  altogether  fifty-five  guns  ;  the  British 
had  six  vessels  carrying  sixty-three  guns.  The  number 
of  men  was  about  five  hundred  in  each  fleet.  Owing  to 
the  direction  of  the  wind  at  the  commencement  of  the 
battle,  Perry's  flag  ship,  the  Lawrence,  was  exposed  to  the 
concentrated  fire  of  the  enemy's  entire  fleet,  and  in  a  short 
time  she  was  made  a  complete  wreck.  As  the  wind  in- 
creased, the  remaining  ships  were  enabled  to  come  up. 
Leaping  into  a  boat,  and  in  the  midst  of  flying  balls, 
Perry  now  transferred  his  flag,  which  bore  the  motto 
"  Don't  give  up  the  ship,"  to  the  next  largest  vessel,  the 
Niagara.  When  passing  through  the  enemy's  line  he 


BATTLE    OF    THE    THAMES — DEATH    OF    TECUMSEH.  603 

poured  in  broadsides,  right  and  left,  within  pistol-shot.   The  CHAP. 

other  American  vessels  closed,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  L 

every  British  ship  had  surrendered.     The  hero  announced    1813. 
the  result  to  General  Harrison,  in  the  memorable  despatch, 
"  We  have  met  the  enemy  and  they  are  ours." 

Harrison  hastened  to  profit  by  the  victory,  and  to  lead  JQ.  ' 
his  men  against  Detroit  and  Maiden.  The  fleet  carried  a 
portion  of  the  troops  across  the  lake,  but  they  found 
Maiden  deserted.  Proctor  and  Tecumseh  had  destroyed 
their  military  stores,  and  taken  with  them  the  horses  and 
cattle  in  the  neighborhood,  and  were  now  in  full  retreat 
toward  the  Moravian  town,  on  the  Thames.  At  Detroit 
Harrison  was  unexpectedly  reinforced  by  about  thirty-five 
hundred  mounted  Kentuckians,  under  the  venerable  Gov- 
ernor Shelby,  one  of  the  heroes  of  King's  Mountain,  and 
Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson.  The  pursuit  now  com- 
menced in  earnest.  After  a  forced  march  of  sixty  miles, 
they  overtook  the  enemy.  A  desperate  encounter  took 
place  ;  nearly  all  Proctor's  men  were  either  taken  or  slain,  Oct. 
he  himself  barely  escaping  with  about  two  hundred  dra-  5< 
goons.  The  Indians  fought  furiously  when  cheered  on  by 
Tecumseh,  but  when  he  fell,  it  is  said  by  a  pistol  ball 
fired  by  Colonel  Johnson  himself,  they  broke  and  fled.  » 
With  the  life  of  the  great  savage  planner  ended  Indian 
hostilities  in  that  part  of  the  frontier.  The  Kentuckians 
returned  home  in  triumph.  Leaving  Colonel  Lewis  Cass, 
who  was  soon  after  appointed  Governor  of  Michigan,  to 
garrison  Detroit  with  his  brigade,  Harrison  embarked  with 
thirteen  hundred  regulars  for  Buffalo,  to  assist  in  the 
cherished  project  of  conquering  Canada. 

Military  enthusiasm  was  not  confined  to  Kentucky 
and  the  region  north  of  the  Ohio.  In  answer  to  a  call  to 
defend  New  Orleans,  volunteers  in  great  numbers  assembled 
at  Nashville,  Tennessee.  General  Andrew  Jackson  was 

their  chosen  commander. 

* 


604  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.         Jackson  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  of  Scotch- 

!  Irish  descent ;  left  fatherless  at  an  early  age  : — his  mother 

1813.  the  descendant  of  a  Scotch  Covenanter,  a  woman  of 
great  energy,  and  of  a  daring  spirit,  but  softened  andsub- 
*  *dued  by  religious  principle  and  humane  sympathy.  From 
her  he  inherited  a  hatred  of  oppression,  and  an  indomi- 
table will  that  never  failed  to  triumph.  At  the  age  of 
thirteen — in  Kevolutionary  times — he  began  his  career  un- 
der General  Sumter  at  the  skirmish  of  Hanging  Kock. 
1780.  His  eldest  brother  had  already  fallen  in  battle,  and  here,  in 
company  with  the  brother  next  in  age,  he  fought  valiantly. 
Their  home  broken  up  and  pillaged,  the  mother  and  her 
two  sons  became  exiles  from  their  own  fireside.  Soon 
after  the  sons,  through  the  plottings  of  Tories,  were  made 
prisoners.  The  next  day  a  British  officer  ordered  Andrew 
to  clean  his  boots,  but  the  young  hero  indignantly  refused 
to  perform  the  menial  service,  and  steadily  persisted, 
though  his  life  was  threatened  and  the  officer  struck  him 
with  the  flat  of  his  sword. 

The  heroic  mother  at  length  obtained  the  exchange  of 
her  sons,  but  only  in  a  short  time  to  follow  to  the  grave 
the  elder,  who  died  of  small-pox,  which  both  the  brothers 
had  contracted  during  their  captivity. 

The  next  year  the  mother,  with  some  other  ladies, 
travelled  more  than  one  hundred  miles  to  minister  to  the 
wants  of  the  unfortunate  patriots,  her  neighbors,  who  were 
confined  as  prisoners  on  board  of  loathsome  prison  ships 
in  the  harbor  of  Charleston.  Enfeebled  by  her  labors  of 
love,  she  contracted  the  fever  then  raging  among  the 
prisoners  and  speedily  passed  away.  Thus  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  Jackson  was  left  without  a  relative  in  his  native 
land.  Scarcely  has  it  ever  fallen  to  the  lot  of  a  youth  to 
experience  a  series  of  such  harrowing  misfortunes.  Though 
young  in  years  these  trials  had  their  effect ;  they  gave  him 
the  maturity  of  manhood  ;  they  strengthened  the  decision 
of  character,  which  so  marked  his  life.  To  his  friends 


.  _._  f      '     \  -m     , 

JACKSON'S  EXPEDITION  TO  NATCHEZ.  605 

generous  to  a  fault,  yet  he  never  suffered  his  will  to  be  CHAR 

successfully  resisted  ;  not  from  stubbornness — that  strong-  1 

hold  of  little  minds — but  from  his  impression  of  right.  1796. 

He  early  emigrated  to  Tennessee,  then  a  territory,  and 
was  the  first  representative  from  that  State  in  the  House. 
He  was  then  described  by  a  contemporary,  "  as  having 
been  a  tall,  lank,  uncouth-looking  personage,  with  long 
locks  of  hair  hanging  over  his  face,  and  a  cue  down  his 
back  tied  in  an  eel-skin  ;  his  dress  singular,  his  manners 
and  deportment  that  of  a  rough  backwoodsman.  No  eye 
among  his  associates  was  prophetic  enough,  under  that 
rude  aspect,  to  recognize  or  imagine  the  future  General 
and  President.1 

New  Orleans  was  almost  defenceless  ;  the  same  mis-  1813. 
taken  economy  we  have  seen  elsewhere,  had  been  exercised 
here.  There  were  only  sixteen  hundred  men  in  the  gar- 
rison, scarcely  any  ammunition,  and  no  means  of  con- 
veyance. Though  without  authority  from  the  War  De- 
partment, General  Wilkinson — the  same  who  in  the  days 
of  the  Kevolution  was  one  of  the  aids  of  General  Gates, — 
had  taken  measures  to  survey  all  the  water  passages  to 
the  Gulf,  and  partially  repair  their  fortifications. 

This  expedition  from  Tennessee  had  a  singular  termi-  , 
nation.  The  infantry,  in  number  sixteen  hundred,  floated 
in  flat-boats  down  the  Cumberland,  the  Ohio  and  the 
Mississippi  to  Natchez,  where  they  were  joined  by  four 
hundred  horsemen,  who  had  marched  across  the  country. 
Armstrong,  the  Secretary  of  War,  sent  orders  to  Jackson,  Feb. 
who  had  been  refused  a  commission  in  the  regular  army, 
to  disband  his  men  at  Natchez,  and  deliver  his  military 
stores  to  General  Wilkinson.  To  implicitly  obey  orders 
which  he  did  not  approve  was  not  one  of  the  virtues  of 
Andrew  Jackson.  Suspecting  that  this,  order  was  a  pre- 
text to  get  rid  of  the  volunteers  without  paying  their 

1  Hildreth,  vol.  iv.,  p.  692. 


606  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

XLm'  wa&es>  ^  positively  refused  to  obey.     Indignant  at  the 

wrong  done  the  men,  he  unceremoniously  drove  out  of  the 

1813.  camp  the  United  States  recruiting  officers,  who  had  come, 
hoping  to  induce  those  volunteers  to  enlist  in  the  regular 
army,  who  had  not  the  funds  to  return  home.  On  his  own 
responsibility,  Jackson  provided  conveyances  for  the  sick, 
and  marched  the  whole  force  back  to  Nashville,  and  there 
April  dis"kan(iecl  them.  The  War  Department  overlooked  the  in- 
subordination, and  quietly  paid  the  bill. 

The  military  operations  on  the  northern  frontier  con- 
tinued as  unimportant,  as  they  were  inefficient  in  bringing 
Great  Britain  to  terms.  To  secure  the  control  of  Lake 
Ontario  it  was  necessary  to  destroy  or  capture  the  ships 
and  military  stores  at  York,  now  Toronto,  then  the  capi- 
April.  tal  of  Upper  Canada,  and  the  head-quarters  of  General 
Sheafe.  When  the  spring  opened,  Commodore  Chauncey 
sailed  with  sixteen  hundred  men  on  board  his  fleet.  They 
landed  a  short  distance  from  the  town,  Lieutenant  Scott, 
who  had  recently  been  exchanged,  leading  the  van.  General 
Pike  led  the  troops  to  the  assault.  The  retreating  British 
fired  a  magazine,  which  exploded  with  tremendous  power, 
overwhelmed  the  advancing  Americans,  and  killed  and 
wounded  more  than  two  hundred  of  their  number,  among 
whom  was  the  gallant  Pike,  who  died  the  next  day.  The 
town  surrendered,  and  the  contents  of  another  magazine 
were  transferred  to  Sackett's  Harbor. 

Just  before  the  Americans  embarked,  a  little  one 
story  building,  known  as  the  Parliament  House,  was 
burned.  The  British  attributed  the  act  to  them,  but 
General  Dearborn  and  his  officers  believed  it  was  set  on 
fire  by  the  disaffected  Canadians,  as  they  had  threatened 
to  burn  it. 

Major  Grafton  certified  that  no  American  could  have 
committed  the  deed  without  his  knowledge,  as  he  had  the 
command  of  the  patrol  in  the  vicinity  of  the  House.  The 


. ;    i  -,     '. 

PKIVATE   RESENTMENTS ANOTHER   FAILURE.  607 

'* 

Canadian  Chief  Justice  of  the  district,  in  a  communication,  CHAP. 

spoke  of  the  humane  conduct  of  the  Americans,  "  which  1 

entitled  them  to  the  gratitude  of  the  people  of  York."    1813. 
Yet  retaliation,  for  the  burning  of  this  building,  was  the 
excuse  offered  afterward  for  the  wanton  destruction  and 
pillaging  of  the  public  buildings  at  Washington. 

During  the  summer  occurred  a  number  of  failures,  all 
traceable  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  commanders.  Finally 
certain  members  of  Congress  informally  requested  the 
President,  through  secretary  Monroe,  to  recall  Dearborn 
from  the  command.  Accordingly  Wilkinson  was  trans- 
ferred from  New  Orleans  to  the  northern  frontier.  General 
Wade  Hampton,  recently  in  command  at  Norfolk,  was  also 
appointed  to  the  command  of  a  division  ;  but  as  he  and 
Wilkinson  were  not  on  friendly  terms,  he  accepted  the 
office  only  on  condition  that  he  should  not  be  placed 
under  the  command  of  the  latter.  That  patriotism  which 
would  overlook  private  resentment  for  the  good  of  the 
country  must  be  sacrificed  to  the  personal  enmities  of  these 
gentlemen.  Hoping  to  remove  the  difficulty,  Armstrong, 
the  Secretary  of  War,  suddenly  appeared  on  the  ground, 
and  assumed  the  chief  command  himself;  but  he  and 
Wilkinson  could  not  agree  on  a  plan  of  operations.  After  May. 
refusing  to  accept  the  proffered  resignation  of  Wilkinson, 
who  did  not  relish  the  uncalled-for  interference,  the  Secre- 
tary returned  to  his  more  appropriate  duties  at  Washington. 

Another  futile  attempt  was  made  to  conquer  Canada. 
General  Wilkinson  moved  his  army  from  Sackett's  Har- 
bor, toward  Montreal ;  in  the  mean  time  General  Hamp- 
ton was  advancing  up  from  Lake  Champlain.  The  two 
American  armies  if  united  would  number  twelve  thousand 
men,  while  the  whole  British  force  was  about  two  thou- 
sand, and  these  mostly  militia.  Wilkinson  wrote  to 
Hampton,  in  Armstrong's  name,  to  join  him  at  St.  Regis, 
but  instead  of  co-operating,  Hampton  replied  that  he  had 
given  up  the  expedition  and  was  already  on  his  return  to 


*  r 

608  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

XLm'  winter-<luarters-     Under  these  circumstances,  Wilkinson 

found  it  necessary  to  retreat,  as  the  season  would  be  too 

1813.  far  advanced  before  he  could  obtain  the  provisions  and 
aid  which  Hampton  had  failed  to  supply.  During  the 
previous  summer  there  had  been  on  the  lake,  as  well  as  on 
its  shores,  several  expeditions  as  unimportant  in  them- 
selves as  they  were  trifling  in  their  results. 

When  General  Harrison,  who  soon  after  resigned  his 
commission,  retired,  he  left  a  General  McClure  in  com- 
mand at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario.  Presently  McClure 
found  himself  with  only  a  few  regular  troops,  as  the  militia 
under  his  command  were  returning  home  ;  their  term  of 
enlistments  had  expired.  Not  prepared  to  resist  the  ad- 
vancing British,  he  was  forced  to  retire  across  the  river  to 
the  American  side.  Before  leaving  he  destroyed  Fort 
George,  and  set  on  fire  the  village  of  Newark,  lest  the 
enemy,  as  he  said,  should  find  comfortable  winter- quarters. 
McClure  gave  as  his  excuse  for  thus  burning  the  homes, 
and  turning  four  hundred  inoffensive  people,  men,  women, 
and  children,  out  into  the  winter's  storms,  that  he  thought 
he  was  justified  by  the  orders  of  the  War  Department. 
In  truth  there  was  no  excuse  for  the  cruel  and  wanton 
Dec.  act.  Evil  begets  evil.  Ten  days  after,  the  enemy  passed 
over  to  the  American  side,  surprised  Fort  Niagara,  and 
to  put  the  garrison  to  the  sword.  Then  commenced  the 
retaliation  for  the  burning  of  Newark.  They  burned 
Lewistown,  Youngstown,  Manchester,  Black  Kock,  and 
Buffalo,  and  indeed  every  house  that  could  be  reached 
from  Lake  Ontario  to  Erie.  Prevost  issued  immediately 
after  a  proclamation,  in  which  he  stated  that  these  rav- 
ages were  provoked  by  the  burning  of  Newark,  and  if  the 
Americans  would  hereafter  refrain  from  such  outrages,  he 
should  conduct  the  war  on  humane  and  civilized  principles. 
During  the  summer  the  whole  American  coast  was 
June,  blockaded  by  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  British  fleet. 
The  Hornet,  the  frigates  United  States  and  Macedonian, 


BRITISH    ARMED    VESSELS   IN    THE    CHESAPEAKE.  609 

T^^  , 

were  shut  up  in  the  harbor  of  New  London.     The  harbor  CHAP. 

of  New  York,  the  Delaware  and  Chesapeake  bays,  the  1 

harbors  of  Charleston  and  Savannah,  the  mouth  of  the  1813. 
Mississippi,  were  all  blockaded.  In  the  Chesapeake  alone 
there  were  more  than  twenty  British  armed  vessels,  on 
board  of  which  were  three  or  four  thousand  land  troops. 
These  frequently  landed  and  pillaged  the  towns,  and  in 
some  instances  committed  outrages  upon  the  inhabitants, 
especially  at  Hampton,  a  small  village  on  James  river. 
The  infamy  of  conducting  these  marauding  expeditions 
belongs  to  Vice-Admiral  Cockburn,  whose  conduct  was 
more  in  accordance  with  the  brutality  of  a  savage,  than 
with  the  humanity  of  an  officer  of  a  Christian  nation. 
These  marauders  were  well  characterized  by  the  term, 
"  Water  Winnebagoes." 

The  war  was  not  confined  to  the  northern  frontier. 
The  untiring  Tecumseh  had  visited  the  Creeks  the  pre- 
vious year,  and  inspired  them,  especially  their  young  war- 
riors, with  his  views.  The  Creeks  occupied  the  greater 
portion  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Alabama,  and  a  por- 
tion of  south-western  Georgia.  Numbers  of  the  tribe  had 
become  partially  civilized,  living  upon  the  products  of 
their  fields  and  their  herds.  The  nation  was  divided  in 
opinion.  The  intelligent  and  wealthy  portion  were  in 
favor  of  peace,  while  the  ignorant  and  poor  were  in  favor 
of  war.  The  one  party  saw  in  a  war  with  the  United 
States,  the  utter  ruin  of  their  nation  ;  the  other  a  return 
to  their  ancient  customs,  and  a  perfect  independence  of 
the  white  man.  The  settlers  blindly  neglected  the  re- 
peated warnings  given  of  these  hostile  intentions.  When 
suddenly  Wetherford,  a  celebrated  half-breed  chief,  sur- 
rounded Fort  Minims,  on  the  lower  Alabama,  and  put  to 
death  nearly  three  hundred  persons,  men,  women,  and 
children.  The  South  was  speedily  roused,  and  soon  about 
seven  thousand  volunteers  were  on  their  march  in  four 
39 


f  *    * 

4  V 

610  HISTOKY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

•  •'%  *  *   * 

XLm'  ^v^s^ons?  ^°  penetrate  the  enemy's  country,  from  as  many 
'.  points,  and  to  meet  in  the  centre. 

1813.  General  Jackson,  with  his  recent  Natchez  volunteers, 
>ec<    moved  from   Nashville  ;   from   East   Tennessee,  another 

division,  under  General  Cocke  ;  one  from  Georgia,  and 

1814.  one  from   the   Mississippi   Territory.      In   addition   the 
lower  Creeks  took  up  arms  against  their  brethren  ;  and 


also  Cherokees  and  Ghoctaws  joined  in  the  expedition.     A 


m 

series  of  attacks  commenced  upon  the  savage  enemy. 
The  Creeks  were  defeated  in  every  conflict  ;  cut  down 
without  mercy,  their  warriors  disdaining  to  ask  for  their 
lives.  The  divisions  penetrated  the  country  from  different 
points,  and  drove  them  from  place  to  place.  In  this  last 
struggle  for  their  homes  they  were  overwhelmed,  but  not 
conquered.  Thus  the  war  continued  for  some  months, 
when  the  greater  portion  of  the  volunteers  returned  home. 
Jackson  was  compelled  to  suspend  offensive  operations 
till  reinforcements  should  arrive.  At  length  they  came, 
and  he  went  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  On  a  peninsula 
formed  by  a  peculiar  bend  in  the  Tallapoosa  river,  known  as 
Emuchfau,  or  the  Horse-shoe,  the  Indians  made  their  last 
stand.  They  fortified  the  neck  of  the  peninsula,  as  much 
as  their  rude  materials  would  permit.  Thither  they  trans- 
ferred their  wives  and  children,  in  whose  defence  they 
Ip  resolved  to  die,  and  there  in  gloomy  silence  they  awaited 

the  attack. 

Mar<  The  assault  was  made  on  the  breastwork,  which,  after 
28.  five  hours'  fighting,  was  carried.  Nearly  six  hundred  of 
the  warriors  perished,  and  the  women  and  children  were 
taken  prisoners.  Thus,  after  a  campaign  of  six  months, 
the  power  of  the  Creeks  was  broken,  and  with  it 
their  spirit  was  crushed.  The  warriors  who  were  yet 
living,  began  to  give  themselves  up  to  the  conquerors.  A 
noble-looking  chief  suddenly,  at  the  hour  of  midnight,  pre- 
sented himself  to  Jackson.  "  I  fought  at  Fort  Mimms  ; 
I  fought  the  army  of  Georgia,"  said  he  ;  "I  did  you  all 

' 


*v 

™ 

'    *  ^a  A 


I 


THE    CRUISE    OF    THE   ESSEX.  611 

*          9?    ••  *  %  n  * 

the  harm  I  could.     Had  I  been  supported  as  I  was  prom-  CHAP. 

ised,  I  would  have\done  more.     But  my  warriors  are  kill-   1 

ed,  and  I  can  fight  no  longer  ;  I  look  back  with  sorrow  1814. 
that  I  have  brought  ruin  upon  my  nation.  I  am  now  in 
your  power,  do  with  me  as  you  please  ;  I  too  am  a  war- 
rior." Such  .were  the  words  of  Wetherford,  the  destroyer 
of  Fort  Mimms.  Jackson  could  appreciate  the  man  who 
would  fight  for  his  country  ;  though  the  volunteers  mur- 
mured,, he  spared  the  life  of  the  chief.  The  General,  so 
stern  in  the  performance  of  duty,  was  not  devoid  of 
humane  sympathy.  When  walking  on  the  field  of  battle 
his  attention  was  arrested  by  the  wail  of  an  Indian  babe. 
He  himself  was  a  childless  man,  yet  his  heart  was  touched. 
Ordering  the  infant  to  be  brought  to  the  camp,  he  asked 
the  Indian  women  to  take  care  of  it.  "  Its  mother  is 
dead,  let  it  die  too,"  was  their  reply.  The  General  took 
the  child  himself,  carried  it  to  his  home,  and  reared  it  in 
his  own  family. 

Ji* 

The  Essex,  Captain  Porter,  passed  round  Cape  Horn,  1313. 
expecting  to  meet  the  Constitution  in  the  Pacific  ;  but  she, 
as  has  already  been  noted,  returned  home  after  the  capture 
of  the  Java.  When  he  arrived  at  Valparaiso,  Porter  was 
gratified  to  be  received  as  a  friend.  Chili  had  thrown  off 
her  allegiance  to  Spain,  and  was  no  longer  an  ally  of 
England.  Learning  there  that  the  viceroy  of  Peru  had, 
in  expectation  of  war  between  Spain  and  the  United 
States,  authorized  cruisers  against  American  whalers,  he 
put  to  sea  in  order  to  chastise  these  cruisers,  one  of  whom 
he  captured  and  disarmed.  He  then  went  in  pursuit  of 
the  British  whalers,  who  were  all  armed,  and  carried  com- 
missions from  their  own  government  to  capture  American 
whaling  vessels.  In  a  few  months  he  captured  twelve  of 
these  whalers.  Hearing  that  the  British  frigate  Phoebe 
had  been  sent  in  pursuit  of  him,  he  returned  early  in  the 
year  to  Valparaiso,  in  search  of  the  enemy.  Soon  the 


* 


i 

*• 


t 


612 


CHAP. 
XLIII. 


1811 


* 


Mar. 
1814. 


*.* 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Phoebe  appeared,  accompanied  by  the  sloop-of-war  Cherub. 
In  guns  and  men,  the  Phoebe  was  a  full  match  for  the 
Essex.  The  two  hostile  vessels  took  their  position  off  the 
harbor.  Porter  determined  to  avoid  the  unequal  contest 
by  escaping  to  sea  ;  but,  when  passing  out  of  the  harbor, 
a  sudden  squall  carried  away  his  main-topmast,  and  as 
he  could  not  return  to  port,  he  was  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Phoebe  and  Cherub.  After  an  encounter,  perhaps  the 
most  desperate  of  any  naval  engagement  during  the  war, 
he  was  forced  to  surrender  ;  but  he  did  not  strike  until 
he  had  lost  the  unusual  number  of  fifty-eight  killed,  and 
sixty-six  wounded.  In  giving  an  account  of  the  affair  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  he  wrote:  "We  have  been 
unfortunate,  but  not  disgraced/' 


v 


i  * 


CHAPTEK    XLIV. 

MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

The  Thirteenth  Congress;  its  Members. — Daniel  Webster. — Manifesto  of 
the  British  Government. — Embarrassments. — Commissioners  of  Peace 
appointed. — Britain  offers  to  negotiate. — Jacob  Brown. — Winfield 
Scott. — E.  W.  Ripley. — Wilkinson  unsuccessful;  his  Misfortunes. — 
Capture  of  Fort  Erie.— Battle  of  Lundy's  Lane.— Its  effect. —British 
repulsed  at  Fort  Erie ;  their  Batteries  captured. — Battle  on  Lake 
Champlain. — British  marauding  Expeditions  on  the  Shores  of  the 
Chesapeake. — Bladensburg. — Capture  of  Washington. — The  Public 
Buildings  burned. — Defence  of  Fort  McIIenry. — Death  of  General 
Ross. — Bombardment  of  Stonington. — Distress  in  New  England. — De- 
bates in  Congress. — Embargo  and  Non-importation  Act  repealed. — 
Hartford  Convention. 

THE  thirteenth  Congress,  in  obedience  to  the  call  of 
the  President,  met  in  special  session,  some  months  before 
the  usual  time.  The  last  census  had  increased  the  num- 
ber of  Kepresentatives  in  the  House  to  182!  Of  the 
present  members  a  greater  proportion  than  iri  the  last 
Congress  were  opposed  to  the  war,  and,  indeed,  its  own 
advocates  on  that  subject  were  by  no  means  harmonious 
among  themselves. 

In  this  Congress,  as  well  as  in  the  last,  appeared  many 
new  men,  whose  influence  was  afterward  greatly  felt,  not 
only  in  their  respective  States,  but  in  moulding  the  future 
policy  of  the  nation  itself.  Among  these  were  John  Forsyth 
of  Georgia,  William  Gaston  of  North  Carolina,  John 
McLean  of  Ohio,  and  Daniel  Webster  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, who  now  commenced  that  career  so  marked  in  our 

^Wl .  *     *  •• 
g 


- 


* 


614  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  national  councils.     Born  on  the  frontiers  of  that  State,  his 

-X  i  ji  V  • 

privileges  were  limited.     The  quiet,  thoughtful  boy,  fond 

fl8l3.  of  books,  read  all  within  his  reach.  His  father,  a  man  of 
^  strong  sense  and  sterling  integrity  ;  his  mother,  a  woman 
of  more  than  ordinary  intellect  and  force  of  character  ;  to 
their  judicious  guidance  may  be  traced  the  best  elements 
of  his  education.  The  father  noticed  his  expanding  in- 
•fellect,  the  calm  power  of  mind  that  intuitively  grasped 
thoughts  far  beyond  his  years.  His  resolution  was  taken  ; 
though  very  limited  in  means,  he  must  educate  his  son. 
At  length  he  informed  Daniel  of  his  determination  to 
send  him  to  college.  At  this  first  intimation  that  the 
dreams  which  had  been  floating  before  his  imagination 
were  to  be  realized,  the  boy's  emotions  were  too  deep  for 
utterance  ;  he  threw  himself  upon  his  father's  neck  and 
wept  for  joy. 

In  Congress  stirring  debates  ensued.  Not  only  was 
the  policy  of  the  war  severely  criticized,  but  the  manner  in 
which  it  had  been  conducted.  Its  advocates  were  sur- 
rounded with  difficulties  ;  the  means  to  carry  it  on  were 
exhausted  ;  the  revenue  derived  from  commerce  had 
dwindled  to  one  million,  with  a  prospect  of  still  greater 
reduction ;  enormous  bounties  were  offered  to  obtain  re- 
cruits for  the  army,  but  very  few  enlisted.  The  clashing 
of  opinions  on  the  subject  had  arrayed  the  people  definitely 
on  one  side  or  the  other. 

Jan.  The  British  government  issued  to  the  world  a  mani- 

festo, in  which  certain  charges  industriously  circulated  in 
the  United  States  were  utterly  denied — such  as  that 
they  had  instigated  the  Indians  to  hostilities,  or  that 
they  had  endeavored  to  seduce  the  people  of  the  Eastern 
States  from  the  Union  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  they  protested 
that  the  English  people  were  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  for- 
bearance, and  were  truly  desirous  to  be  at  peace  and 
amity  with  the  people  of  the  United  States.  As  to  the 
question  of  search,  they  were  unwilling  to  give  up  the 


I*.- 


THE  WAR  UNPOPULAR  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 


615 


right  to  recover  their  deserting  seamen,  unless  the  United  CHAP. 

States  would  remove  the   necessity  for  impressments,  by  L 

enacting  laws  forbidding  British  sailors  to  enlist  in  the    1813. 
American  service.     This  document  had  a  great  effect  in 
influencing  the  minds  of  the  people  in  England,  as  well 
as  upon  those  in  the  United  States. 

The  disasters  of  the  last  campaign,  and  the  want  of 
money,  a  sufficiency  of  which  could  not  be  obtained  by 
loans,  were  not  as  embarrassing  to  the  government,  as  the 
opposition  to  the  war  which  prevailed  in  the  New  Eng- 
land States.  The  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  sent  a 
remonstrance  to  Congress.  They  denounced  the  war  as 
unreasonable,  for  Great  Britain  had  repealed  the  obnoxious 
Orders  in  Council,  and  also  offered  to  negotiate  in  relation 
to  impressments.  Undue  influences  in  the  councils  of  the 
nation  had  led  to  measures  opposed  to  their  interests,  and 
had  brought  ruin  upon  them  by  war.  It  was  a  duty  to 
their  constituents  to  make  this  remonstrance.  They  ap- 
pealed to  the  Searcher  of  hearts  for  the  purity  of  their 
motives,  and  their  devotion  to  their  country. 

The  people  of  New  England  complained  that  for  the 
last  twelve  years,  their  influence  in  the  national  govern- 
ment had  not  been  in  proportion  to  their  population,  in- 
telligence and  wealth, — that  their  best  and  ablest  men 
had  been  designedly  excluded  from  positions  of  influence 
in  the  councils  of  the  nation. 

In  less  than  a  year  after  the  declaration  of  war,  Presi- 
dent Madison,  influenced  by  an  offer  of  mediation  on  the 
part  of  Kussia,  appointed  Albert  Gallatin,  his  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  and  James  A.  Bayard,  commissioners  to  nego- 
tiate a  peace.  They  were  to  act  in  concert  with  John 
Quincy  Adams,  then  minister  at  the  court  of  St.  Peters- 
burg. The  offered  mediation  by  Kussia  was  declined  by 
England  ;  and  nothing  was  accomplished  by  the  com- 
missioners. Nearly  a  year  afterward,  the  British  govern- 
ment made  a  direct  overture  to  treat  of  peace,  either  at 


Mar. 


if". 


* 


616  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.  London  or  at   Gottenburg  in  Sweden.      This  offer  was 

made  in  the  face  of  the  ultimate  downfall  of  Bonaparte, 

1814.  who  had  just  been  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Leipsic.  The 
^  President  gladly  accepted  the  offer,  though  he  complained 
that  the  English  government  had  rejected  the  mediation 
of  Russia,  which  had  been  offered  three  several  times. 
Accordingly,  Henry  Clay  and  Jonathan  Russell,  recently 
minister  to  England,  were  appointed  additional  commis- 
sioners of  peace.  In  a  month's  time,  they  had  received 
their  instructions,  and  were  on  their  way  to  Europe. 

These  instructions  took  decided  ground  on  the  im- 
pressment question.  "  That  degrading  practice  must  cease," 
said  they.  "  Our  flag  must  protect  the  crew,  or  the  United 
States  cannot  consider  themselves  an  independent  nation." 
Yet  the  promise  was  quietly  made  to  enact  a  law  for- 
bidding the  enlistment  of  British  sailors,  either  in  the 
United  States  navy  or  in  the  mercantile  service.  Still 
more,  the  commissioners  were  privately  authorized  "  to  go 
further,  to  prevent  a  possibility  of  failure."  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  this  was  the  very  law  or  assurance  in 
effect,  that  Britain  asked  of  Congress,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war. 

Engrossed  with  the  affairs  of  Europe,  England  as  yet 
could  spare  but  few  men  or  ships  for  the  American 
war.  Bonaparte  having  abdicated  and  retired  to  Elba, 
she  had  on  her  hands  a  large  veteran  army  unemployed. 
Of  this  army,  fourteen  thousand  soldiers  were  sent  to 
Canada,  while  other  portions  were  sent  to  different  places 
in  the  United  States.  This  acquisition  changed  the  face 
of  affairs  on  the  northern  frontier. 

The  failures  in  that  quarter,  had  thrown  the  adminis- 
*  ^  tration  at  Washington  into  despair.     The  soldiers  had 

but  little  confidence  in  officers,  who  were  continually 
quarrelling  with  each  other,  and  never  acting  in  concert, 
and  this  favorite  measure  was  about  to  be  given  up,  from 
sheer  want  of  proper  persons  to  lead  the  enterprise.  New 

BL;..   • 


Jfc. 


* 


NEW   MEN    ON   THE    STAGE.  617 

4 

men  were  coming  on  the  stage.  The  most  promising  of 
these  was  Colonel  Jacob  Brown,  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth, 
a  Quaker  by  descent,  who,  when  a  school  teacher  in  the  1814. 
city  of  New  York,  attracted  the  attention  of  Hamilton, 
who  made  him  his  military  secretary  in  the  army  of  1798. 
Brown  subsequently  removed  to  the  northern  part  of  New 
York  State,  and  there,  in  his  defence  of  Ogdensburg,  as 
well  as  on  other  occasions,  exhibited  military  talents  of  a 
high  order.  There  was  another  youthful  hero,  destined  to 
fill  an  honorable  space  in  the  military  annals  of  his  country. 
Winfield  Scott,  a  native  of  Virginia,  originally  bred  for 
the  bar  ;  he  also  belonged  to  the  army  of  '98.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  war  he  raised  and  commanded  a 
company  of  volunteers.  To  these  may  be  added  Eleazar 
W.  Kipley,  of  Maine,  who  possessed  talents  of  a  high  order. 

These  young  and  enthusiastic  officers  believed  that  if 
the  Americans  were  drilled,  and  led  by  commanders  in 
whom  they  had  confidence,  they  would  meet  the  British 
regulars  without  fear  for  the  result.  Owing  to  their 
solicitations,  another  invasion  of  Canada  was  planned. 
Nothing,  however,  was  gained  by  the  effort,  except  the 
verification  of  their  theory. 

Early  in  the  spring,  Wilkinson,  who  had  been  ill  for 
months,  moved  with  four  thousand  men,  from  winter 
quarters,  to  repel  a  British  detachment.  His  progress  was 
arrested  near  La  Colle,  at  a  stone  mill,  held  as  an  outpost. 
The  single  heavy  cannon  brought  to  batter  down  the  mill, 
sunk  in  the  mire.  An  unusual  thaw  commencing,  flooded 
the  whole  country,  and  opened  Lake  Champlain,  of  which 
the  British  had  control.  The  Americans  were  fain  to  re- 
tire from  the  danger  as  soon  as  possible.  Wilkinson  was 
so  much  abused  and  ridiculed  on  account  of  this  failure, 
that  he  indignantly  resigned,  and  demanded  an  inquiry 
into  his  conduct  by  a  court-martial. 

One  year  from  that  time,  he  was  honorably  acquitted 
by  the  court.  But  the  government,  which  he  had  faith- 


618  HISTOEY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

XLIV'  ^y  serve(*  f°r  f°rtv  years,  on  the  reduction  of  the  army 
after  the  war,  dismissed  him  from  its  service.  Thus  in 
his  old  age  he  experienced  the  hardship  of  being  turned 
upon  the  world  without  a  competency.  The  State  of 
Maryland  came  forward,  and  generously  granted  him  a 
pension. 

When  spring  further  opened,  a  concentration  of  forces 
on  both  sides  resulted  in  a  series  of  movements  and  counter- 
movements  accomplishing  nothing  of  importance.  The 
first  point  resolved  upon,  was  to  seize  Burlington  Heights, 
at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario,  before  aid  could  come  from 
York.  In  the  mean  time,  Commodore  Chauncey  was  to  get 
the  command  of  the  lake. 

Having  obtained  permission  from  the  government, 
General  Brown,  with  thirty-five  hundred  men,  some  reg- 
ulars and  some  volunteers,  passed  in  the  night  from 
Buffalo  to  Canada,  presented  himself  in  the  morning  be- 
fore Fort  Erie,  and  summoned  the  garrison  to  surrender. 
In  the  course  of  the  day,  the  fort  complied. 
2.  The  British  General  Kiall,  with  an  army  equal  in 

number  to  that  of  Brown,  was  stationed  behind  the  Chip- 
pewa,  distant  fifteen  miles.  Colonel  Scott,  the  next  day, 
led  the  advance  against  the  enemy,  whose  outposts  he 
drove  in  ;  the  remainder  of  the  army  came  up  at  midnight. 
Brown  here  gave  an  indication  of  what  he  expected  of  his 
officers  ;  he  cashiered  one  of  their  number  for  untimely  re- 
treating in  a  skirmish.  On  the  following  day,  Kiall  left 
his  intrenchments  and  crossed  the  Chippewa.  The  volun- 
teers could  not  resist  the  attack,  but  fled,  leaving  Scott's 
brigade  exposed.  The  latter  charged  the  advancing  enemy 
witrF  the  bayonet,  and  forced  them  to  retreat  ;  as  they 
passed  the  bridge  they  destroyed  it.  Kiall  immediately 
abandoned  his  camp  and  Queenstown,  and  leaving  a  strong- 
force  in  Fort  George,  retreated  to  a  favorable  position 
twelve  miles  distant.  The  British  loss  in  these  engagements 
was  about  five  hundred,  the  American  about  three  hundred 


- 



THE  BATTLE  OF  LUNDY'S  LANE.  619 

This  first  victory,  after  a  fair  trial  of  strength,  was  very  CHAP. 

gratifying  to  the  Americans,  privates  as  well  as  officers.  1 

Brown  took  possession  of  Queenstown,  but  found  he  had   1814. 
not  the  proper  cannon  to  successfully  attack  Fort  George,    fu 
and  that  the  fleet  could  not  co-operate.     After  maintain-    July 
ing  his  position  three  weeks,  he  fell  back  to  the  Chippewa.     24- 

The  British  were  not  idle.  On  the  very  day  that 
Brown  reached  the  Chippewa,  General  Dmmmond  ar- 
rived from  York  at  Fort  George,  with  large  reinforce- 
ments. To  prevent  them  from  sending  a  detachment  to 
destroy  his  stores  at  Schlosser,  Brown  made  an  advance 
upon  the  enemy.  Scott  led  his  brigade,  accompanied  by 
the  artillery  commanded  by  Towson.  General  Kiall  was 
advancing  in  force  in  an  opposite  direction,  intending  on 
the  following  morning  to  attack  the  Americans.  About 
sunset,  when  directly  opposite  the  falls  of  Niagara,  these 
parties  unexpectedly  met.  The  British  took  position  on 
a  rising  ground,  and  there  placed  their  artillery,  consisting 
of  seven  pieces.  These  began  to  play  upon  Scott's  bri- 
gade, while,  because  of  their  position  on  the  hill,  balls 
from  Towson's  guns  could  scarcely  reach,  them.  *The  loss 
of  the  Americans  was  great,  yet  they  maintained  their 
position,  expecting  Brown  with  the  main  army.  When  it 
was  quite  dark,  he  arrived.  One  of  Scott's  regiments  under 
Major  Jessup  drove  the  Canadian  militia  before  them,  and, 
gaining  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  captured  a  number  of 
prisoners,  among  whom  was  General  Kiall  himself,  who 
having  been  wounded,  was  retiring.  It  was  seen  that  the 
key  of  the  position  was  the  park  of  artillery  on  the  hill. 
Said  Kipley  to  Colonel  James  Miller  :  "  Can  you  take  that 
battery  ?  "  "  I'll  try,  sir,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  Then 
silently  leading  his  regiment,  which  was  partially  concealed 
by  the  fence  of  a  churchyard,  along  which  they  passed, 
Miller  rushed  upon  the  artillerists,  and  drove  them  from 
their  guns  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Presently  General 
Drummond  advanced  in  the  darkness  to  recover  the 


620  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

XLIV"  £uns  >  kut  kig  men  <luailed  before  the  terrible  fire  which 

they  encountered.      He  rallied  them  again;  and  again 

1814.    they  were  forced  from  the  hill.     With  the  energy  of  des- 
J|f    peration,  for  the  third   time   they  advanced,  and  were 
again  met  with  a  resistance  equally  obstinate, — the  op- 
posing forces  fighting  hand  to  hand  with  the  bayonet.    It 
Jnj      was  now  midnight.     The  British  sullenly  retired.      The 
25.      Americans  had  maintained  their  ground,  supplying  their 
own  exhausted  ammunition  from  the  cartridge-boxes  of 
their  slain  foes.     The  men  were  almost  perishing  with 
hunger,  thirst  and  fatigue.    They  had  marched  during  the 
day  fifteen  miles,  and  contended  with   the   enemy  five 
hours.     Exhausted,  they  sank  upon  the   ground.     The 
silence  was  broken  only  by  the  groans  of  the  wounded  and 
dying,  and  the  roar  of  the  mighty  cataract,  whose  moan- 
ing tones  was  a  fit  requiem  for  the  dead  on  that  field  of 
blood. 

The  Americans  at  length  retired  to  their  camp,  not 
having  horses  or  any  means  to  carry  off  the  guns  which 
they  had  captured.  The  scouts  of  the  enemy  soon  dis- 
covered that  they  had  retired,  and  a  strong  detachment 
was  sent  to  reoccupy  the  hill  and  recover  their  artillery. 

:  Such  was  the  midnight  battle  of  Bridgewater,  or  Lundy's 
Lane.  The  Americans  lost  nearly  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  men — and  the  British  nearly  nine  hundred  ;  an  un- 
precedented loss,  when  compared  with  the  number  en- 
gaged. Brown  and  Scott  were  both  wounded  ;  as  well  as 
nearly  all  the  regimental  officers.  The  next  morning  there 
were  but  sixteen  hundred  effective  men  in  the  American 
camp.  It  was  now  seen  that  the  Americans,  when  prop- 
erly led,  could  and  would  fight.  They  had  met  the  vete- 
rans who  fought  under  Wellington  in  Spain,  and  repulsed 
them  in  three  desperate  encounters.  This  battle  stood  out 
in  bold  relief,  when  compared  with  the  imbecility  hitherto 
so  characteristic  of  the  campaigns  on  the  northern  fron- 


BRITISH    REPULSED — BATTLE   ON   LAKE    CHAMPLAIN.  621 

tier.     It  acquired  a  national  interest,  as  important  in  its  CHAP. 
effect  as  the  first  naval  victories.  1 

The  American  army  fell  back  to  Fort  Erie,  the  com-  1814. 
mand  of  which  Brown  intrusted  to  Colonel  Edmund  P.  ^ 
Gaines.  In  the  course  of  a  fortnight,  Drummond  ad- 
vanced with  four  thousand  men,  and  after  bombarding 
the  fort,  attempted  at  midnight  to  carry  it  by  assault. 
The  British,  in  the  face  of  a  destructive  fire,  charged 
again  and  again,  even  within  a  few  feet  of  the  intrench-  Aug. 
ments.  They  were  finally  forced  to  retire,  after  sustain- 
ing a  loss  of  nearly  a  thousand  men — the  Americans  not 
losing  a  hundred.  In  a  few  weeks  the  energetic  Brown, 
now  partially  recovered  from  his  wounds,  assumed  the 
command.  He  determined  to  make  a  dash  at  the  enemy's 
batteries,  which  were  two  miles  in  advance  of  their  camp. 
The  time,  mid-day,  was  well  chosen.  Hushing  out  from  Sept. 
the  fort,  before  assistance  could  come  from  the  British 
camp,  he  stormed  the  batteries,  fired  the  magazines, 
spiked  the  guns,  captured  four  hundred  prisoners,  and  re- 
turned to  the  fort,  leaving  six  hundred  of  the  enemy 
killed  and  wounded.  But  this  brilliant  exploit  cost  him 
nearly  three  hundred  men.  Drummond  immediately 
raised  the  siege  and  retreated  beyond  the  Chippewa. 

Stirring  events  occurred  on  another  part  of  the  frontier. 
The  little  navy  on  Lake  Champlain  emulated  the  deeds 
of  the  one  on  Lake  Erie  just  a  year  before.  General 
Prevost,  himself,  marched  from  Canada  with  twelve 
thousand  veteran  troops  to  invade  the  State  of  New  York 
— the  town  of  Plattsburg  was  the  special  object  of  attack. 
There  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Saranac,  General  M$comb 
was  intrenched  with  an  army  of  three  thousand  men, 
many  of  whom  were  invalids.  The  main  body  of  the 
American  forces  was  under  General  Izard,  at  Sackett's 
Harbor.  Macomb  called  upon  the  militia  of  Vermont  and  8®Pt- 
New  York  for  aid ;  three  thousand  of  whom  nobly  re- 
sponded, as  did  their  fathers  thirty-seven  years  before, 


* 

622  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

XLIV  '   W^en  Burgoyne  was  moving  in  the  same  direction,  and  for 

the  same  purpose.     Commodore  Macdonough,  after  labor- 

1814.  ing  incessantly,  had  at  last  equipped  a  fleet.  It  consisted 
Jjf  of  a  ship,  the  Saratoga,  of  twenty-six  guns,  a  brig  of 
twenty  guns,  an  armed  schooner,  and  a  sloop,  besides 
some  gun-boats,  in  all  eighty-six  guns  and  eight  hundred 
and  fifty-six  men.  The  British  soon  appeared,  and  be- 
gan to  prepare  batteries  in  order  to  assault  Macomb's 
position.  It  was  useless  to  force  the  Saranac,  unless  the 
command  of  the  lake  was  secured.  Captain  Downie  had 
a  fleet  of  one  ship  of  thirty-seven  guns,  a  brig  of  twenty- 
four,  two  sloops  each  of  eleven,  and  a  number  of  gun- 
boats, in  all  ninety-five  guns  and  one  thousand  men. 
Macdonough  moored  his  fleet  across  the  entrance  of  Platts- 
burg  Bay.  A  strange  scene  was  witnessed  on  board  the 
Saratoga.  As  the  British  fleet  drew  near,  Macdonough 
knelt  in  prayer  in  the  presence  of  his  men,  and  implored  the 
blessing  of  Heaven  upon  his  country,  and  especially  upon 
those  about  to  engage  with  him  in  the  coming  conflict. 

Downie  stood  directly  into  the  harbor,  reserving  his 
fire  for  a  close  action,  but  his  largest  vessel  became  so 
disabled  that  he  was  obliged  to  cast  anchor  a  quarter  of  a 
Sept.  m^e  from  -the  American  line.  During  this  time  one  of 
his  sloops  was  so  cut  up  as  to  become  unmanageable,  and 
drifting  within  reach,  was  secured,  while  the  other  sloop 
for  a  similar  cause  drifted  ashore.  All  the  guns  on  one 
side  of  Macdonough's  largest  ship  were  disabled,  but  he 
managed  to  wind  her  round,  and  presented  a  whole  side 
and  guns  to  her  antagonist.  Downie  attempted  the  same 
manoeuvre,  but  failing  he  struck  his  flag  ;  the  entire  fleet 
was  captured  with  the  exception  of  a  few  gun-boats. 

When  the  battle  began  on  the  lake,  Prevost  advanced 
to  storm  Macomb's  position  ;  he  delayed  the  main  attack 
till  a  detachment  could  cross  the  river  above,  but  before 
that  was  accomplished,  the  fleet  had  surrendered.  The 
following  night,  in  the  midst  of  a  raging  storm,  the  enemy, 


THE    BRITISH    FLEET    IN    THE    CHESAPEAKE.  623 

stricken  with  a  sudden  panic,  commenced  their  retreat,  CHAP. 

abandoned  their  sick  and  wounded,  and  the  greater  part  of  1 

their  stores.     Thus  again  the  navy  of  the  lake  had  given   1814. 
a  decisive  blow. 

Their  great  number  of  vessels  enabled  the  British  still 
to  blockade  the  ports  of  the  United  States,  and  effectually 
prevent  their  ships  of  war  from  getting  to  sea.  The  Wasp 
was  their  only  one  afloat.  She  was  known  to  have  lately 
captured  the  British  sloop-of-war  Avon,  and  subsequently 
three  other  prizes.  All  trace  of  her  was  now  lost ;  she 
had  gone  down,  carrying  with  her  the  only  American  flag 
which  waved  on  the  ocean  from  a  national  vessel.  Chesa- 
peake Bay  became  the  favorite  rendezvous  for  the  British 
fleet  ;  its  shores  affording  great  facilities  for  marauding 
expeditions.  As  a  defence,  the  gun-boats  were  of  no  ser- 
vice, except  to  make  a  bold  front  till  the  enemy  came 
near,  and  then  to  run  up  the  creeks,  out  of  harm's  way. 

In  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  and  its  tributaries, 
there  were  now  sixty  ships  of  war  under  the  command  of 
Admirals  Cockburn  and  Cochrane.  On  board  this  fleet 
was  a  land  force  of  five  thousand  troops,  under  General 
Robert  Ross.  The  greatest  alarm  prevailed  in  that  region 
in  consequence  of  a  proclamation,  signed  by  Cochrane, 
which  promised  to  persons  desirous  of  emigrating  from  the 
United  States,  employment  in  the  British  army  and  navy, 
or  transportation  as  "free  settlers "  to  the  West  India 
Islands,  or  to  Canada.  Still  more  alarming  was  the  July 
rumor,  based  on  the  proposition  of  some  British  officers,  9- 
that  the  enemy  were  about  to  seize  the  peninsula  between 
the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Bays,  and  there  form  and 
drill  an  army  of  runaway  slaves. 

General  Winder,  who  was  appointed  to  the  command 
in  the  emergency,  was  authorized  to  call  out  fifteen  thou- 
sand militia  from  the  neighboring  States.  This  he  pro- 
posed to  do  some  weeks  before  the  enemy  appeared,  and 


624  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

XJJT'    to  place  them  in  a  central  position,  that  they  might  be 

able  to  march  to  the  defence  of  either  Washington,  Balti- 

1814.  more,  or  Annapolis,  as  the  case  might  require.  This  ju- 
(§»  dicious  plan  was  not  adopted.  Armstrong,  the  Secretary 
of  War,  opposed  it  on  the  ground  that  with  an  empty 
treasury  it  would  be  unjustifiable  to  incur  the  expense  ; 
and,  moreover,  he  was  of  the  opinion  that  Washington 
would  not  be  attacked  by  an  enemy  who  were  without 
horses  or  cannon,  and  that  Baltimore  could  defend  itself. 
President  Madison  seems  to  have  been  at  a  loss  what  to 
do  or  advise.  In  the  midst  of  these  discussions  the  enemy 
appeared,  one  portion  of  their  fleet  coming  up  the  bay, 
and  another  up  the  Potomac. 

At  this  late  hour  word  was  sent,  not  by  express,  but 
by  the  tardy  mail,  to  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  asking  them  to  forward  their  requisition  of 
militia.  It  was  now  impossible  for  them  to  reach  the 
scene  of  action.  In  the  mean  time  at  Benedict,  on  the 
Patuxent,  about  fifty  miles  from  Washington,  General 
Koss  landed  five  thousand  troops,  without  meeting  the 
least  opposition  from  the  militia  of  the  neighborhood. 
He  commenced  his  march  toward  the  capital,  moving 
very  slowly,  not  more  than  ten  miles  a  day,  the  marines, 
for  want  of  horses,  dragging  their  field-pieces,  only  three 
or  four.  The  soldiers  were  enervated  from  the  effects  of 
their  voyage,  and  from  the  excessive  heat  of  the  weather. 
A  few  spirited  troops  could  have  easily  checked  them.  A 
company  of  armed  and  trained  negroes  marched  in  front, 
cautiously  exploring  the  country,  and  receiving  from  run- 
away slaves  information  of  the  Americans.  The  soul  of 
the  enterprise  was  the  notorious  Cockburn,  who  had  been 
for  a  year  engaged  in  pillaging  that  region.  The  planters 
were  so  much  alarmed  for  their  own  safety,  lest  the  slaves, 
much  more  numerous  than  their  masters,  should  rise  in 
insurrection  and  join  the  enemy,  that  they  permitted  the 
invaders  to  advance  for  four  days  without  making  the  least 


*  JL 

BATTLE    OF    BLADENSBURG.  625 

opposition.      They  might   have   been   delayed   on   their  CHAP. 

march  much  longer,  if  trees  had  been  felled  at  certain  L 

points  where  the  roads  crossed  swamps,  or  if  the  numerous    1811. 
bridges  on  the  route  had  been  broken  down. 

Commodore  Barney,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
flotilla  of  gun-boats,  ran  them  up  the  Patuxent  as  far  as 
possible,  then  set  them  on  fire,  and  marched  with  five 
hundred  marines  to  join  the  militia  concentrating  in  the 
vicinity  of  Bladensburg.  Here  he  was  put  in  command 
of  some  heavy  guns  brought  from  the  navy  yard.  The 
President  himself,  accompanied  by  his  cabinet,  visited  the 
camp,  where  all  was  in  confusion.  The  divisions  of 
militia  were  stationed  by  General  Winder  in  such  posi- 
tions as  to  support  each  other,  but  these  had  been  changed 
by  self-constituted  officers,  who  accompanied  the  Presi- 
dent. It  was  ascertained  that  the  enemy  was  moving 
toward  Bladensburg.  Kumor  had  magnified  their  num- 
ber to  ten  thousand  ;  all  veterans.  The  discreet  militia 
began  to  retreat,  some  with  permission  and  some  without. 
On  learning  this  General  Winder  sent  orders  for  them  to 
make  a  stand  at  the  bridge  and  fight.  The  village  was 
abandoned,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  east  branch  of 
the  Potomac  the  marines  and  militia  were  arranged. 
Barney  had  placed  his  men  in  a  position  to  sweep  the 
road  with  the  guns.  About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon 
the  enemy  appeared,  but  so  excessive  had  been  the  heat, 
that  they  were  completely  exhausted.  When  Koss  re- 
connoitred the  militia  stationed  on  the  rising  ground,  he 
was  somewhat  alarmed  at  their  formidable  appearance. 
But  he  had  gone  too  far  to  retreat  ;  the  order  was  given 
to  move  forward.  His  alarm  was  of  short  continuance. 
A  few  Congreve  rockets  put  the  Maryland  militia  to  flight ; 
the  riflemen  followed  ;  the  artillery,  after  firing  not  more 
than  twice,  rapidly  retreated  ;  then  the  Baltimore  regi~,g 
ment,  on  which  some  hopes  were  placed,  fled  also,  carry- 
ing  with  them  the  President  and  his  cabinet.  The 
40 


t 


626  HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

XLIV'  British  now  move<l  slowly  on  until  they  were  checked  by 

the  guns  manned  by  the  marines  under  Barney.     Find- 

1814.  ing  it  impossible  to  force  the  position  of  the  marines  and 
sailors  in  front,  detachments  filed  by  the  right  and  left 
and  passed  up  ravines.  At  the  head  of  one  was  stationed 
the  Annapolis  regiment,  which  fled  at  the  first  fire.  At . 
the  head  of  the  other  ravine  were  placed  some  regulars 
and  militia  ;  they  also  showed  their  discretion  by  getting 
out  of  harm's  way  as  soon  as  possible.  The  sailors  and 
marines,  thus  deserted,  and  in  danger  of  being  surrounded, 
retired,  their  guns  and  wounded  companions  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Owing  to  the  vigorous  fire  of 
the  marines,  the  British  lost  a  large  number  of  men,  and 
others  died  from  fatigue  and  heat,  and  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  wait  some  hours  before  they  could  march  on 
Washington.  Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Bladensburg, — 
in  one  respect  the  most  famous  in  American  annals. 

In  the  cool  of  the  evening  the  British  advanced  into 
Washington,  which  they  found  almost  entirely  deserted 
by  its  male  inhabitants.  The  enemy  proceeded  to  dis- 
grace themselves  by  fulfilling  the  instructions  which  Ad- 
miral Cochrane  had  previously  officially  announced, 
which  were  "to  destroy  and  lay  waste  all  towns  and  dis- 
tricts of  the  United  States  found  accessible  to  the  attack 
of  British  armaments."  They  burned  the  capitol,  and  with 
it  the  Congressional  Library,  and  the  buildings  used  for 
the  Treasury  and  State  Departments,  in  revenge,  as  it  was 
said,  for  the  Parliament  House  at  York.  Many  important 
Aug.  papers  were  lost,  but  the  most  valuable  had  been  removed 
25>  some  days  before.  Mrs.  Madison  had  left  the  President's 
mansion,  taking  with  her  the  plate  and  valuables,  and  also  a 
portrait  of  Washington — which  was  taken  from  the  frame 
and  rolled  up.  The  mansion  was  pillaged  and  set  on  fire, 
as  were  some  private  dwellings,  and  stores  were  also  plun- 
*  dered.  A  complete  destruction  followed  at  the  -navy 
yard. 


. 

GENERAL  ROSS  SLAIN — DEFENCE  OF  FORT  M^HENRY.      627 

In  the  midst  of  a  hostile  country,  General  Boss,  with  CHAP. 

a  handful  of  exhausted  men,  was  ill  at  ease.     Perhaps  he  1 

had  read  of  Concord  and  Lexington,  and  was  alarmed  1814. 
lest  "  the  indignant  citizen  soldiery  "  would  turn  but  and 
harass  him  on  his  retreat.  Early  the  following  night  he 
Mndled  the  camp  fires,  and  leaving  behind  him  the  sick 
and  wounded,  he  commenced  a  stealthy  retreat  to  his 
ships.  His  alarm  was  needless  ;  in  a  march  of  four  days 
not  the  least  opposition  did  he  experience.  Four  days 
after  the  taking  of  the  capital,  the  British  frigates,  passing 
by  Fort  Washington,  which  offered  but  little  resistance, 
came  up  the  Potomac  and  anchored  opposite  Alexandria, 
which  town  saved  itself  from  a  bombardment  by  paying 
an  enormous  tribute. 

When  his  men  were  refreshed,  General  Ross  moved 
with  the  fleet  up  the  Chesapeake,  toward  Baltimore.  The 
militia  of  Maryland  by  this  time  had  assembled  for  the 
defence  of  the  city,  and  also  several  companies  of  volun- 
teers had  arrived  from  Pennsylvania.  The  enemy,  eight 
thousand  strong,  landed  at  North  Point,  at  the  mouth  of  Sept. 
the  Patapsco.  The  land  forces  commenced  their  march, 
and  the  fleet  to  ascend  the  river,  intending  to  capture 
Fort  McHenry,  situated  two  miles  below  the  city.  An 
advance  party  of  Americans  were  thrown  forward.  In  a 
skirmish  with  this  party,  General  Ross  was  killed,  yet  the 
invaders  pressed  on;  the  militia,  after  a  spirited  encounter, 
retired  in  good  order.  The  next  morning  the  enemy  ad- 
vanced, yet  hesitatingly,  as  the  neighboring  hills  were 
covered  with  soldiers,  field  works  and  artillery,  which  al- 
together made  a  formidable  appearance.  They  were  un- 
der the  veteran  General  Samuel  Smith,  the  same  who  so 
gallantly  defended  Fort  Miiflin  in  thee  Revolution.  The 
British  hesitated  to  commence  the  attack  without  the  co- 
operation of  the  fleet,  which  was  then  busily  engaged  in 
bombarding  Fort  McHenry,  but  without  much  success, 
as  the  fort  was  replying  with  great  spirit.  When  it  was 


628  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,    ascertained  that  the  fleet  could  not  pass  the  fort,  the  in- 

vaders  silently  retired  in  the  night  and  re-embarked. 

1814.  It  was  amid  the  excitement  of  this  cannonade  that 
Francis  Key  composed  the  popular  song  of  the  "  Star 
Spangled  Banner."  He  had  gone  to  ask  the  release  of 
certain  prisoners,  and  had  been  detained  during  the  at- 
tack on  board  the  British  fleet. 

•  From  Eastport  in  Maine  to  Sandy  Hook,  the  whole 
Eastern  coast  was  liable  to  these  marauding  expeditions. 
One  of  the  most  serious  of  these,  was  the  bombardment 
of  Stonington  in  Connecticut,  which  continued  for  four 
days,  but  after  throwing  shells  and  rockets,  and  several 
attempts  to  land,  the  enemy  retired.  They  were  repelled 
in  every  instance  by  the  sturdy  militia.  Field  works, 
garrisoned  by  the  yeomanry  of  the  country,  were  thrown 
up  at  all  points  along  the  coast  likely  to  be  an  object  of 
attack.  This  was  done  by  the  State  authorities,  the  na- 
tional government  being  so  completely  enfeebled,  as  to 
be  unable  to  afford  the  least  aid  to  any  of  the  States. 

The  people  of  New  England,  with  very  few  exceptions, 
continued  to  complain  of  their  grievances.  Their  dis- 
tress was  great;  the  embargo,  enforced  by  severe  penalties, 
ruined  their  fisheries  and  their  coasting  trade,  and  had 
deprived  them  of  many  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  They 
looked  upon  these  restrictions  as  "  more  odious  and  un- 
feeling than  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  which  roused  the  colo- 
nies to  independence  ;  a  gross  and  palpable  violation  of  the 
principles  of  the  Constitution,  not  to  be  submitted  to  with- 
out a  pusillanimous  surrender  of  their  rights  and  liberties/7 

Petitions  poured  in  to  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts, 
asking  it  to  take  measures  to  redress  these  grievances.  A 
committee  to  whom  these  petitions  were  referred,  reported 
Feb.  in  terms  expressive  of  the  general  sentiment  of  the  pe- 
titioners. They  believed  that  the  war,  so  fertile  in  failures, 
and  so  threatening  as  to  its  results,  was  uncalled  for  and 


DEBATES   IN    CONGRESS — DANIEL    WEBSTER.  629 

« 

wrong  in  principle.     They  saw  in  the  future  the  people  CHAP. 

impoverished,  deprived  of  their  comforts,  and  their  hopes  1 

blasted.     And  the  committee  recommended  a  convention    1814. 
of  delegates  from  the  commercial  States,  to  obtain  amend- 
ments to  the  constitution  that  would  secure  them  against 
such  evils. 

These  manifestations  of  discontent  had  their  effect, 
and  the  President  himself  proposed  the  abandonment  of 
the  restrictive  system,  not  only  the  embargo,  but  the  non- 
importation act.  In  order  to  encourage  domestic  manu-  Mar. 
factures,  instead  of  the  latter  he  recommended  that  for 
three  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  double  duties  be 
imposed  upon  imported  goods,  and  that  the  exportation 
of  specie  be  prohibited. 

The  advocates  of  the  war  in  Congress,  annoyed  at  the 
failures  of  the  last  two  years,  attributed  their  want  of 
success  to  the  influence  of  those  opposed  to  the  war  ;  in- 
stead of  acknowledging  their  own  imprudence,  in  thus 
rushing,  without  preparation,  into  hostilities,  or  ceasing  to 
be  infatuated  with  the  idea  of  conquering  Canada.  In 
the  discussion  on  a  bill  to  procure  enlistments  for  the 
army,  Daniel  Webster  in  reply  to  these  charges,  no 
doubt  expressed  the  general  sentiment  of  those  opposed 
to  the  war.  In  those  sections  of  the  country  where  the 
population  was  most  numerous,  the  war  was  unpopular 
because  of  its  impolicy  ; — it  was  no  detraction  from  their 
patriotism  that  they  did  not  join  heart  and  hand  in 
measures  which  they  deemed  the  extreme  of  folly.  He 
continued, — "  Give  up  your  futile  projects  of  invasion. 
Extinguish  the  fires  which  blaze  on  your  inland  frontiers. 
Establish  perfect  safety  and  defence  there  by  adequate 
force.  Let  every  man  that  sleeps  on  your  soil  sleep  in 
security.  Having  performed  this  work  of  beneficence  and,  j» 
mercy  on  your  inland  border,  turn  and  look  with  the  eye 
of  justice  and  compassion  on  your  vast  population  along 
the  coast.  Unclench  the  iron  grasp  of  your  embargo.  Take 


630  HISTOEY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


> 

XLIV'  measures  f°r  that  end  before  another  sun  sets  upon  you. 

With  all  the  war  of  the  enemy  upon  your  commerce,  if 

1814.  you  would  cease  to  make  war  upon  it  yourselves,  you 
would  still  have  some  commerce.  That  commerce  would 
give  you  some  revenue.  Apply  that  revenue  to  the  aug- 
mentation of  your  navy.  Let  it  no  longer  be  said,  that 
not  one  ship  of  force,  built  by  your  hands  since  the  war, 
yet  floats  upon  the  ocean.  If  the  war  must  continue,  go 
to  the  ocean.  If  you  are  seriously  contending  for  mari- 
time rights,  go  to  the  theatre  where  alone  those  rights  can 
be  defended.  Thither  every  indication  of  your  fortune 
points  you.  There  the  united  wishes  and  exertions  of 
the  nation  will  go  with  you.  Even  our  party  divisions, 
acrimonious  as  they  are,  cease  at  the  water's  edge.  They 
are  lost  in  attachment  to  the  national  character,  on  the 
element  where  that  character  is  made  respectable.  In 
time  you  may  be  able  to  redress  injuries  in  the  place 
where  they  may  be  offered  ;  and,  if  need  be,  to  accompany 
your  own  flag  throughout  the  world  with  the  protection 
of  your  own  cannon." 

The  embargo  and  non-importation  act  were  repealed, 
while  action  on  the  other  recommendations  of  the  Presi- 
dent was  postponed. 

The  delegates  to  the  convention  recommended  by  the 
legislature  of  Massachusetts,  met  upon  the  appointed  day 

Dec.  at  Hartford.  In  accordance  with  the  sentiments  express- 
ed in  the  call  for  the  convention,  the  members  were  en- 
joined not  to  propose  measures  "  repugnant  to  their  obli- 
gations, as  members  of  the  Union."  They  met  in  a  time 
of  trial  and  distress  to  confer  with  each  other  on  the  best 
means  to  relieve  the  country  of  a  ruinous  war,  and  secure 
the  blessings  of  a  permanent  peace.  The  Convention, 
consisting  of  but  twenty-six  members,  sat  with  closed 
doors.  After  a  session  of  twenty  days  it  adjourned,  and, 
as  the  result  of  their  deliberations,  published  an  address 
to  the  people.  The  address  disappointed  the  more  violent 


THE  HARTFORD  CONVENTION.  631 

opponents  of  the  war,  who  thought  the  occasion  demanded  CHAP. 

more  decided  measures.     The  President  and  his  cabinet  L 

had  been  much  alarmed  ;  in  the  Convention,  they  imagin-    1814. 
ed  lurked  some  terrible  plot  of  treason ;  they  breathed 
more  freely  when  they  read  this  address  and  the  resolutions. 

After  recapitulating  the  evils  which  the  war  had 
brought  upon  the  people  whom  they  represented,  they  ex- 
pressed their  sentiments  upon  other  wrongs  ;  such  as  the 
enlistment  of  minors  and  apprentices  ;  the  national  gov- 
ernment assuming  to  command  the  State  militia  ;  and 
especially  the  proposed  system  of  conscription  for  both 
army  and  navy.  "  Strange  propositions  for  a  government 
professedly  waging  war  to  protect  its  seamen  from  im- 
pressment !  "  "  The  conscription  of  the  father  with  the 
seduction  of  the  son,  renders  complete  the  power  of  the 
national  executive  over  the  male  population  of  the  coun- 
try, thus  destroying  the  most  important  relations  of 
society." 

"  A  free  constitution  administered  by  great  and  in- 
comparable statesmen  realized  the  fondest  hopes  of  liberty 
and  independence,  under  Washington  and  his  measures. 
The  arts  flourished,  the  comforts  of  life  were  universally 
diffused,  nothing  remained  but  to  reap  the  advantages 
and  cherish  the  resources  flowing  from  this  policy." 

"  Our  object  is  to  strengthen  and  perpetuate  the  union 
of  these  States,  by  removing  the  causes  of  jealousies/' 

In  furtherance  of  these  views  they  proposed  amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution  ;  among  others,  to  equalize  the 
representation  in  the  lower  House  of  Congress,  by  basing  it 
on  free  population  ;  against  embargoes  and  non-intercourse 
laws  ;  to  make  the  President  ineligible  for  a  second  term. 
These  amendments  were  never  adopted  by  the  States. 
The  existence  of  the  Convention  showed  the  intense  feel- 
ing on  the  subject  of  the  war  and  its  consequences,  and 
its  deliberations  exhibit  no  other  spirit  than  that  of  wish- 
ing to  redress  grievances  by  constitutional  means. 


632  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP-         Shortly  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Convention,  the 

I  legislatures  of  Massachusetts   and  Connecticut,  viewing 

1814.  the  law  of  Congress  which  authorized  the  enlistment  of 
minors  and  apprentices,  as  a  violation  of  their  rights  and 
unconstitutional,  passed  laws  that  subjected  the  recruiting 
officers  to  fine  and  imprisonment ;  and  required  the  State 
judges  to  release  any  such  minor  or  apprentice  on  appli- 
cation of  the  parent  or  guardian.  Fortunately  the  war 
was  soon  after  brought  to  a  close,  and  the  necessity  for 
enlistments  under  this  oppressive  and  demoralizing  law, 
was  removed. 


CHAPTEK    XLV. 

MADISON'S   ADMINISTRATION— CONCLUDED. 

Jackson  enters  Pensacola. — New  Orleans  defenceless. — The  British  land. — 
Jackson's  Measures  of  Defence. — Battle  of  New  Orleans. — The  Distress 
of  the  Country  and  Embarrassment  of  the  Government. — The  Relief. — 
Treaty  of  Peace. — The  Frigate  President  captured. — Successes  at  Sea. 
— War  with  Algiers. — Treaty  with  that  Power. — Treaty  with  the  In- 
dians.— Financial  Disorders. — State  of  Indiana. — John  Fitch. — Robert 
Fulton. — First  Steamboat. 


WHEN  arranging  affairs  with  the  Creeks,  General 
Jackson  learned  that  the  Spaniards  at  Pensacola  had 
welcomed  the  hostile  Indians,  and  also  that  a  British  1814. 
man-of-war  had  furnished  them  with  arms.  Intelligence 
of  this  was  sent  to  Washington,  whence  orders  were  trans- 
mitted to  Jackson  to  seize  Pensacola.  That  these  orders 
were  six  months  on  the  way,  may  illustrate  the  efficiency 
with  which  the  War  Department  was  conducted.  Mean- 
time some  British  men-of-war  arrived  in  the  harbor,  from 
which  a  Colonel  Nichols  landed  men  and  began  to  enlist 
the  Creeks.  Jackson  now  sent  urgent  appeals  to  his 
favorite  Tennessee  mounted  men  to  hasten  to  his  aid. 
The  British  soon  after  attacked  Fort  Bowyer  on  the  east 
shore  of  Mobile  Bay.  The  fort  was  defended  by  one 
hundred  and  thirty  men,  under  Major  Lawrence.  The 
vigorous  defence  soon  repulsed  the  enemy,  one  of  whose 
ships  blew  up  and  the  rest  were  fain  to  depart.  This 
success  encouraged  the  people  of  Louisiana  and  Missis- 
sippi in  their  efforts  to  defend  New  Orleans  themselves, 


.. 

634  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  without  depending  upon  the  General  Government.     Jack- 

son  wrote  repeatedly  to  Washington  for  orders   and  re- 

1814.    ceived  none,  but  when  the  three  thousand  Tennesseans, 
under  General  Coffee,  arrived,  he  took  the  responsibility 
to  enter  Pensacola  and  demand  that  the  British  should 
Nbv.^  leave  the  place.     He  also  intimated  in  emphatic  terms  to 
the  Spanish  governor,  that  he  would  hold  him  responsible 
for  permitting  the  British  to  occupy  his  territory,  for  the 
purpose  of  encouraging  the  Creeks  in  their  hostility.     The 
British  immediately  blew  up  a  fort  which  they  had  erected 
seven  miles  below  the  town,  and  took  to  their  ships. 
8.  Confident  that  the  enemy  designed   to  direct   their 

efforts  against  New  Orleans,  Jackson  sent  in  advance 
General  Coffee  to  some  point  on  the  Mississippi,  with  the 
mounted  men,  while  he  himself  followed,  as  soon  as  cir- 
cumstances would  permit.  The  defences  of  New  Orleans 
were  in  a  deplorable  condition ;  since  Wilkinson  left, 
nothing  further  had  been  done  to  repair  them.  The  city 
contained  nearly  twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  not  one- 
half  of  whom  were  whites.  These  were  principally  of 
French  origin,  and  others  of  foreign  birth,  none  of  whom 
were  ardently  attached  to  the  United  States.  Jackson 
hastened  to  the  point  of  danger.  He  availed  himself  of 
every  possible  aid  ;  he  released  the  convicts  in  the  prisons, 
and  enrolled  them  for  the  occasion  ;  accepted  the  offered 
services  of  Lafitte,  the  head  of  the  Baratarian  buccaneers. 
He  also  issued  an  address  to  "  the  noble-hearted,  gener- 
ous, free  men  of  color/'  to  enroll  themselves  for  the  de- 
fence of  their  country.  To  this  call,  under  an  act  of  the 
Louisiana  Legislature,  they  heartily  responded. 

While  he  was  thus  unprepared,  the  British  fleet  cast 
anchor  off  the  entrance  of  Lake  Borgne.  It  had  on  board 
twelve  thousand  land  troops,  besides  four  thousand  sailors 
and  marines.  These  troops  had  recently  been  under  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  in  the  Peninsular  war,  and  were 
commanded  by  able  and  experienced  generals ;  Sir  Ed- 


• 

JACKSON'S  PREPARATIONS — CONFLICTS.  635 

ward  Packingham,  a  brother-in-law  of  the  Duke  of  Wei-  CHAP. 

lington,  Gibbs,  Keene,  and  Lambert.     Three  days  later,  1 J* 

after  a  severe  contest,  they  captured  the  entire  American    1814. 
flotilla  on  Lake  Borgne. 

The  Louisiana  militia  were  immediately  called  out, 
but  they  were  ill  supplied  with  arms.  Some  months  pre-^ 
vious,  Jackson,  anticipating  this  very  emergency,  had 
urged  upon  the  War  Department  at  Washington  to  send 
a  supply  of  arms  from  the  arsenal  at  Pittsburg.  The 
government  agent,  unwilling  to  pay  the  usual  freight  on 
the  only  steamboat  then  running  to  New  Orleans,  shipped 
the  arms  on  board  keel  boats.  Thus  twenty-five  cents  on 
a  hundred  pounds  of  freight  were  saved  by  the  govern- 
ment, and  Jackson  received  the  muskets  after  the  battle  ! 

General  Coffee  had  reached  Baton  Kouge,  at  which 
place  he  received  orders  to  hasten  with  all  speed  to  the 
scene  of  action.  With  eight  hundred  of  his  best  mounted 
men — all  unerring  marksmen,  armed  with  rifles  and  toma- 
hawks— he  made  the  extraordinary  march  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  in  two  days.  Thus,  by  similar  exertions, 
in  the  space  of  a  fortnight,  Jackson  had  five  thousand 
men,  four-fifths  of  whom  were  militia.  Other  difficulties  Dec- 

20 

presented  themselves.  Owing  to  the  want  of  co-operation 
on  the  part  of  the  legislature,  and  the  necessities  of  the 
tunes,  he  proclaimed  martial  law. 

The  enemy  landed  two  thousand  light  armed  troops, 
under  General  Keene.  Jackson  marched  to  meet  them 
with  the  regulars,  and  Coffee's  men  dismounted.  Soon 
after  dark  the  battle  began  ;  the  enemy  were  driven  from 
one  point  to  another,  till  finally  they  found  protection  -^gC- 
behind  a  levee.  Good  service  was  done  in  this  conflict 
by  the  armed  schooner  Carolina,  which  ran  in  near  the 
shore,  and  with  her  guns  swept  their  ranks.  This  success- 
ful repulse  of  the  invaders  greatly  encouraged  the  Ameri- 
cans. 

The  next  day  Jackson  took  a  position  on  solid  ground 


636  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


nearly  a  mile  in  breadth  ;  the  river  protecting  one  flank, 
-  and  a  swamp  the  other.     Though  strongly  reinforced,  the 
1815.    British  made  no  attempt  the  following  day  to  retrieve 
what   they  had  lost,  being   deterred   by  the  reports  of 
prisoners,  who  greatly  exaggerated  the  strength  of  Jack- 
*  son's    force.      This    delay   was    profitably   occupied    in 
strengthening  the  defences  ;  bales  of  cotton  were  used  as 
a  rampart,  and  the  ditch  was  extended  to  the  swamp. 
Five  days  after  the  enemy  advanced  and  drove  in  the 
American  outposts,  and  when  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
ramparts   opened   with   artillery  and   Congreve   rockets. 
Yet  Jackson  replied  with  so  much  vigor,  with  his  five 
heavy  guns,  that  after  a  cannonade  of  seven  hours  the 
enemy  withdrew,  having  suffered  considerable  loss. 

Within   three   days   after    this   repulse,   they  made 

Jan.     another  attack  with  much  heavier  artillery.     Their  move- 

1*      ments  were  concealed  by  a  dense  fog,  and  the  intimation 

of  their  approach  was  given  only  by  their  cannon  balls 

crashing  through  the  American  camp,  but  Jackson  had 

so  strengthened  his  works,  that  the  British  —  their  guns 

dismounted  and  silenced  —  were  again  compelled  to  retire  ; 

but  it  was  to  make  preparations  for  a  grand  assault. 

Presently   twenty-two    hundred    Kentucky   riflemen 

Jan.     arrived  ;    of  whom  unfortunately  one-half  were  without 

4>      arms,  and  could  not  be  supplied.     These  Jackson  placed 

to  throw  up  a  second  line  of  intrenchments  in  the  rear  of 

the  first  line. 

When  prepared,  the  British  moved  to  the  assault, 

under  the  cover  of  a  battery  of  six  eighteen-pounders, 

which  had  been  erected  the  previous  night.     The  main 

Jan.     column  was  led  by  Packenham  in  person,  intending  to 

8*      storm  the  centre,  one  column  moved  along  the  river  and 

carried  a  redoubt,  another,  led  by  Gibbs  and  Keene,  ad- 

vanced along  the  edge  of  the  swamp. 

As  the  advancing  columns  came  within  range,  the 
American  artillery  opened  upon  them  with  deadly  effect, 


BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  637 

yet  they  filled  up  their  ranks  and  moved  steadily  on.  CHAP. 
Presently  they  reached  the  range  of  the  Kentucky  and  _  1 
Tennessee  rifles,  they  poured  in  a  continuous  stream  of    1815. 
unerring  bullets.     The   heads  of  the  columns   faltered. 
While  endeavoring  to  rally  them,  Packenham  fell  ;  Keene 
and  Gibbs  were  both  wounded,  the  latter  mortally.     The  ^ 
command  then  devolved  on  General  Lambert,  who  made 
two  more  unsuccessful  attempts  to  storm  the  works,  but 
was  forced  to  retire,  leaving  on  the  field  two  thousand 
men  killed  and  wounded.     Jackson  had  taken  the  pre- 
caution to  send  General  Morgan  across  the  river  to  throw 
up  intrenchments  directly  opposite  his  own.     The  night 
previous  to  the  battle,   Packenham  sent  a  detachment 
under  Colonel   Thornton,  who  drove   Morgan   from   his 
position,  but  when  the  main  body  was  defeated  he  took 
to  his  boats  and  hastily  retreated. 

In  this  battle  the  Americans  lost  seven  men  killed  and 
as  many  wounded. 

Taking  every  precaution  to  guard  against  surprise, 
Lambert  gradually  fell  back  to  the  first  landing  place, 
and  then,  in  the  course  of  twenty  days,  re-embarked. 

Thus  virtually  ended  the  war  of  1812.  The  only 
battles  well  fought  on  land,  were  those  directed  by  new 
men  called  into  active  service  by  the  war  itself.  The 
victories  at  Lundy's  Lane  and  New  Orleans  were  gained 
by  soldiers  who  had  been  trained  but  a  short  time,  but 
they  were  under  commanders  in  whom  they  had  implicit 
confidence. 


Though  these  successful  events  were  transpiring 
that  distant  region,  yet  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  at 
Washington,  it  was  the  gloomiest  period  of  the  war. 
Affairs  were  almost  desperate.  The  treasury  exhausted, 
the  national  credit  gone;  the  terrible  law  of  conscription, 
like  an  ominous  cloud  hanging  over  the  people,  civil  dis- 
cord seemingly  ready  to  spring  up  between  the  States  ; 


638  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

* 

CHAP-  the  coasts  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  yet  subject  to 
_  the   marauding  expeditions  of  the  infamous    Cockburn, 


1815.  while  the  inhabitants  were  crying  in  vain  to  the  General 
Government  for  assistance.  Nothing  favorable  had  yet 
been  heard  from  the  commissioners  of  peace  at  Ghent, 
nor  even  from  New  Orleans.  It  was  known  that  a  very 
large  force  of  British  veterans  was  in  the  vicinity  of  that 
place,  and  that  Jackson  was  very  ill-prepared  to  meet  them. 
As  a  gleam  of  sunshine  in  intense  darkness,  a  rumor, 
by  way  of  Canada,  proclaimed  that  peace  had  been  con- 
cluded ;  at  the  same  time  came  another  from  the  south- 
west that  'the  enemy  had  been  defeated.  While  all  were 
tremblingly  anxious  for  the  truth  of  these  rumors,  late  of 
a  Saturday  night,  a  British  sloop-of-war,  the  Favorite, 
commissioned  for  the  purpose,  arrived  at  New  York, 

Fet)-  bringing  the  treaty  of  peace,  already  ratified  by  the 
British  government.  The  cry  of  PEACE  !  PEACE  !  ran 
through  the  city.  As  if  by  one  impulse  the  houses  were 
illuminated,  and  the  citizens,  without  distinction  of  party, 
thronged  the  streets  to  congratulate  each  other.  In 
the  midst  of  their  own  rejoicings  they  did  not  forget  their 
brethren  who  were  yet  ignorant  of  the  welcome  news,  and 
messengers  were  sent  in  every  direction.  In  thirty-two 
hours,  the  express  with  the  tidings  reached  Boston. 
There  the  excitement  was  almost  unbounded.  The 
people  assembled  in  crowds  to  hear  the  news,  which  had 
so  unexpectedly  brought  relief  to  their  distresses.  The 
bells  rang  their  merriest  peal,  and  the  schools  received  a 
holiday.  Flags  and  streamers  were  soon  displayed  on  the 
vessels  which  had  lain  so  long  idle  at  the  wharf.  Before 
night,  carpenters  and  riggers  were  at  work,  sailors  were 
engaged,  cargoes  were  passing  on  board  ;  Boston  was  her- 
self again  in  commercial  activity.  The  reception  of  the 
news  was  followed  by  similar  rejoicings  all  along  the  coast, 
and  throughout  the  country.  To  add  still  more  to  the 
happiness,  as  well  as  the  gratification  of  the  nation,  in  a 


THANKSGIVINGS — THE    FRIGATE    PRESIDENT    CAPTURED.          639 

• 

few  days  was  confirmed  the  rumor  of  the  total  defeat  of  CHAP. 
the  British  before  New  Orleans. 


The  Senate   unanimously  ratified  the  treaty  within    1815. 
thirty  hours  after  it  was  laid  before  them.     The  President 
speedily  issued  a  proclamation,  announcing  the  fact,  that 
once  more  peace  reigned  throughout  the  land.     A  day  for    Feb. 
thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  for  the  blessing,  was  ob- 
served by  the  nation.      4 

The  treaty  provided  for  the  mutual  restoration  of  all 
places  taken  during  the  war;  also  for  determining  the 
northern  boundary,  and  other  matters  of  minor  importance 
were  amicably  arranged.  But  not  a  word  was  said  on  the 
impressment  question,  for  the  settlement  of  which  the 
war  had  ostensibly  been  continued  after  the  first-  two 
months.  Both  parties  seem  to  have  been  heartily  tired 
of  fighting  ;  though  Great  Britain  wished  to  restrain 
what  she  thought  an  alarming  grasping  spirit  in  the  New 
Kepublic,  as  evidenced  in  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  and 
the  attempts  on  Canada. 

A  few  days  after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  the 
President  recommended  to  Congress  the  passage  of  a  law 
to  guard  against  incidents  which,  during  the  periods  of  war 
in  Europe,  might  tend  to  interrupt  peace,  enjoining  that 
"  American  vessels  be  navigated  exclusively  by  American 
seamen,  either  natives  or  such  as  are  already  naturalized," 
thus  endeavoring  to  gain  by  legislation  what  could  not  be 
obtained  by  war.  Yet  one  object  had  been  secured — we 
hear  no  more  of  the  impressment  of  American  seamen. 

i 

Previous  to  the  announcement  of  peace,  the  command- 
ers of  some  of  the  national  vessels  determined  to  evade  the 
blockading  enemy  and  escape  to  sea.  Commodore  De-  jau. 
catur,  on  board  the  frigate  President,  commanding  the 
sloops  Hornet  and  Peacock  to  follow,  attempted  to  evade 
the  blockade  of  the  port  of  New  York.  Passing  out  in 
the  night,  after  being  unfortunately  aground  for  some 


640  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  hours,  in  the  morning  he  fell  in  with  the  British  squadron, 

1  by  whom  he  was  chased.     One  of  the  enemy,  the  frigate 

1815.  Endymion,  commenced  an  engagement,  but  after  a  run- 
ning fight,  she  was  effectually  disabled,  and  fain  to  haul 
off.  The  President  unfortunately  was  also  crippled,  and 
the  other  British  vessels  coming  up,  Decatur  was  com- 
pelled to  strike  his  colors. 

A  few  days  after,  the  Hornet  and  Peacock  avoided  the 
blockade,  and  proceeded  to  their  rendezvous,  off  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.     On  her  way  the  Hornet,  Captain  Biddle, 
Mar.    fell  in  with  and  captured  the  British  brig  Penguin.     The 
latter  was  made  a  complete  wreck,  and  as  such  was  set  on 
fire.     The  Peacock  joined  her  consort,  and  in  company 
they  sailed  to  the  Indian  Ocean.     The  Hornet  was  soon 
after  chased  by  a  British  seventy-four,  and  in  order  to 
escape,  she  was  compelled  to  throw  her  guns  and  nearly 
all  her  armament  overboard,  in  which  condition  she  re- 
turned to  New  York.     The  Peacock,  Captain  Warring- 
June    ton,  continued  on  to  the  East  Indies,  where  she  captured 
30-     the  cruiser  Nautilus. 

The  Constitution,  Captain  Stewart,  also  evaded  the 

blockade  off  Boston  harbor.     On  a  moonlight  night  she 

fell  in  with  two  war  vessels  off  the  port  of  Lisbon.     They 

prepared  to  engage,  but  the  Constitution  manoeuvred  to 

keep  the  wind  at  about  an  equal  distance  from  her  an- 

Feb.    tagonists.     Captain  Stewart,  seizing  a  favorable  oppor- 

20-     tunity,  directed   all  his   force  upon  the  vessel  nearest, 

which  almost*  immediately  struck  ;  then  he  captured  the 

other  in  a  similar  manner.     The  prizes  proved  to  be  the 

British  sloops-of-war  Cyane  and  Levant.     These  captures 

+    were  all  made  after  the  articles  of  peace  were  signed. 

Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  war  with  Britain, 
the  Dey  of  Algiers,  thinking  the  Americans  would  have 
no  means  of  punishing  him,  renewed  his  old  practice  of 
piracy.  Pretending  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the  presents 
he  had  received  from  the  American  government,  he  dis- 


COMMODOKE    DECATUR    HUMBLES    THE   DEY    OF    ALGIERS.         641 

missed  Lear,  the  consul,  threatening  to  reduce  him  and  CHAP. 

his  family,  and  all  the  Americans  in  Algiers,  to  slavery,  a  '_ 

fate  which  Lear  escaped  by  paying  a  large  ransom.     Some    1815. 
American  vessels  were  afterward  seized  by  the  pirates,  and 
their  crews  reduced  to  slavery.  ^' 

Two  months  after  the  conclusion  of  peace,  an  Ameri- 
can squadron,  under  Decatur,  consisting  of  three  large 
frigates  and  seven  other  vessels  of  war,  sailed  for  the 
Mediterranean.  Six  weeks  later,  Bainbridge  followed  May. 
with  the  Independence,  the  new  seventy-four,  accompanied 
by  other  war  vessels  ;  on  the  way  he  was  also  joined  by 
the  Congress  frigate.  But  before  his  arrival  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, the  energetic  Decatur  had  brought  the  Dey 
to  terms.  On  the  second  day  after  passing  through  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar,  he  fell  in  with  the  largest  frigate  of 
the  Dey  under  his  high  Admiral,  on  a  cruise  for  Ameri- 
can merchantmen.  After  a  fight  of  less  than  thirty 
minutes  the  Algerine  was  captured  ;  two  days  after 
another  cruiser  shared  a  similar  fate.  When  the  squadron 
appeared  before  Algiers,  the  intelligence  of  these  disasters, 
by  which  he  had  lost  his  best  ship,  and  six  hundred  men, 
had  greatly  humbled  the  Dey.  To  escape  a  worse  pun- 
ishment, he  gladly  submitted  to  the  indignity  of  signing, 
on  Decatur's  quarter-deck,  a  humiliating  treaty.  He  June 
bound  himself  to  make  indemnities  for  his  extortions  ;  to 
surrender  all  his  prisoners  without  ransom,  and  to  re- 
nounce all  claim  for  tribute  from  the  American  govern- 
ment, as  well  as  his  barbarous  practice  of  piracy  and  re- 
ducing prisoners  to  slavery. 

Decatur  proceeded  immediately  to  Tunis  and  Tripoli, 
where  he  demanded  and  received  indemnity  for  some  + 
American  vessels,  at  whose  captures,  in  their  harbors,  by 
the  English,  they  had  connived.  Thus,  in  a  few  weeks, 
these  barbarians  were  taught  a  lesson  which  they  have  not 
yet  forgotten.  When  Bainbridge  arrived,  he  found  all 
the  difficulties  arranged.  The  united  navy,  consisting  of 
41 


* 


642  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP-  fourteen  vessels,  visited  the  principal  ports  of  the  Medi- 

terranean.     Their  victories  over  the  mistress  of  the  ocean, 

1815.    secured  them  treatment  manifesting  high  respect. 

'  4  The  autumn  following  the  close  of  the  war,  a  great 

council  of  the  North-western  Indian  trihes  was  held,  at 

which  they  made  peace  with  each  other.     Afterward  they 

all  made  peace  with  the  United  States.     Thus  apprehen- 

Sept    sions  of  future  Indian  hostilities  were  removed. 

The  war  left  the  finances  of  the  country  in  a  very 
confused  state.  The  banks  in  existence,  except  those  in 
New  England,  were  unable  to  redeem  their  notes  in  specie, 
and  confidence  in  their  promises  to  pay  was  wanting.  The 
national  debt,  in  consequence  of  the  war,  was  known  to  be 
more  than  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  In  order  to 
remove  some  of  the  burdens  resting  upon  the  people,  the 
^^  .  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  A.  J.  Dallas,  proposed  to  remit 
some  of  the  internal  taxes,  which  had  been  levied  during 
the  last  few  years.  Instead  of  which  he  advised  the  im- 
position of  duties  on  imports,  not  merely  to  secure  a  revenue, 
but  also  to  protect  the  manufactures  which  had  sprung 
into  existence  during  the  war.  The  President  likewise,  in 
his  annual  message,  urged  the  adoption  of  such  a  policy. 

To  aid  in  rectifying  the  financial  disorders  in  the 
1817.  country,  Congress  chartered,  for  twenty  years,  a  National 
•^f1*'  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  thirty-five  millions  of  dollars.  It 
commenced  operations  at  Philadelphia,  and,  in  connection 
with  its  branches  in  other  States,  afforded  the  people  a  uni- 
form currency  redeemable  at  all  times  with  gold  and  silver. 

A  bill  designed  to  compel  the  local  banks  to  pay 
specie  -was  passed,  ordering  that  all  dues  to  the  government 
should  be  paid  in  gold  and  silver,  or  "in  treasury  notes, 
notes  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  or  in  notes  of  banks 
payable  and  paid  on  demand  in  specie." 

The  Territory  of  Indiana  having  adopted  a  constitu- 
tion,  presented  herself  for  admission  into  the  Union,  and 
was  received. 


FITCH — FULTON THE   FIRST    STEAMBOAT.  643 

John  Fitch,  an  uneducated  watchmaker  of  Philadel-  CHAP. 

XL  V* 

phia,  conceived  the  design  of  propelling  boats  by  steam.  

He  applied  to  Congress  for  assistance,  but,  unfortunately,  1785. 
was  refused  ;  then,  with  a  similar  result,  he  applied  to  the 
Spanish  authorities  of  Louisiana.  Some  years  later  he  $ 
found  means  to  construct  a  boat,  and  to  make  a  trial  trip 
on  the  Delaware.  The  boat  went  at  the  rate  of  eight 
miles  an  hour,  but  unfortunately  the  boiler  exploded.  One 
disaster  followed  another,  and  poor  John  Fitch  died,  the 
victim  of  disappointment,  but  full  of  faith  that  others 
would  yet  perfect  his  invention  :  he  desired  to  be  buried 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  that  boats  propelled  by  steam 
might  pass  near  his  last  resting  place.  In  less  than 
twenty  years  after  his  death  the  steamer  Clermont  passed 
up  the  Hudson  from  New  York  to  Albany.  18°f- 

The  Clermont  was  the  work  of  Kobert  Fulton,  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  once  a  pupil  of  West,  the  painter.  He 
had  a  decided  turn  for  mechanics,  and  had  studied  the  sub- 
ject many  years  in  Europe,  where  he  received  pecuniary 
aid  and  encouragement  from  Kobert  E.  Livingston,  then. 
American  minister  at  Paris. 

To  American  enterprise  is  due  the  honor  of  launching 
the  first    steamboat   and  the  first    Ocean  steamer — the 
Savannah — that  crossed  the  Atlantic.    She  left  New  York,    1818. 
went  to   Savannah,  and  thence  to  Europe,  where  she  was 
an   object   of  great   interest.      Twenty   years  later  the   April 
British  steamer  Great  Western  came  to  New  York  in 
fourteen  days. 

Madison's  Administration,  so  full  of  important  events, 
drew  to  a  close.  James  Monroe,  also  from  Virginia,  had 
been  elected  his  successor,  and  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  of  f 
New  York,  Vice-President.  The  latter  had  been  Governor 
of  that  State,  and  in  that  capacity  been  most  efficient 
in  aiding  the  country  in  the  war  just  closed.  At  one  time 
he  sustained  the  garrison  of  the  city  by  his  own  private 
credit. 


CHAPTEK    XLVI. 

MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

* 

A  Return  to  the  earlier  Policy  of  the  Government. — The  President's  Tour 
in  the  Eastern  States. — The  Colonization  Society. — Revolutions  in  the 
Spanish  Colonies. — Indian  War ;  the  Semiuoles. — General  Jackson  in 
the  Field. — Purchase  of  Florida. — The  Missouri  Compromise. — Manu- 
factures.—Increase  of  Tariff.— Visit  of  Lafayette. 

CHAP.  SINCE  the  close  of  the  war,  party  distinctions  were  fast 

XLVI 

_J.  losing  their  influence.     In  the  minds  of  the  great  majority 

1817.  of  the  people,  names  were  giving  place  to  ideas.  The  na- 
tion was  prepared  for  the  quiet  revival  of  the  leading  prin- 
ciples of  Washington's  administration.  The  people  had 
not  in  so  many  words  thus  formally  decided; — but  to  return 
to  the  policy  of  the  earlier  days  of  the  Government  seemed 
the  only  means  to  remedy  existing  evils,  and  to  guard 
against  their  recurrence  in  the  future.  This  may  be  said 
in  relation  to  the  revenue  as  arising  from  commerce,  the 
finances,  the  policy  toward  foreign  nations,  and  in  the 
means  of  national  defence  both  by  sea  and  land. 
Mar.  rp^  new  p^^ent  in  his  inaugural  fully  indorsed  these 
doctrines,  and  they  were  echoed  and  re-echoed  throughout 
•^g  the  land  as  the  true  policy,  while  some  of  the  old  Kepub- 
licans  characterized  them  as  being  veritable  Federalism 
under  another  name.  The  President  pointed  to  the  ex- 
perience of  th<e  nation  in  the  last  struggle,  and  unhesi- 
tatingly advised  not  only  fortifications  on  the  coast  with 
garrisons,  but  a  navy  strong  enough  to  maintain  the  dig- 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  TOUR — COLONIZATION  SOCIETY.  645 

nity  and  neutrality  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  pro-  CHAP. 

tect  commerce  ;  he  also  recommended  that  a  knowledge  1 

of  naval  and  military  science  should  be  kept  up.     In  ad-    1817. 
dition,  that  domestic  manufactures  be  protected  by  im- 
posts on  foreign  merchandise,  and  also,  internal  improve-      t 
ments  be  aided  by  the  national  government,  if  such  ex- 
penditure was  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Con- 
stitution. 

Though  professing  to  be  much  gratified  that  the  party 
spirit  lately  so  rampant  was  allayed,  the  President  took 
good  care  to  appoint  none  but  his  most  devoted  adherents 
to  the  offices  within  his  gift.     John  Quincy  Adams  was 
recalled  from  the  court  of  St.  James  to  become  Secretary 
of  State.     The  other  members  of  his  cabinet  were  "Wil- 
liam H.  Crawford  of  Georgia,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ; 
Crowningshield  of  Massachusetts,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ;       *• 
John  C.  Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War,  and  William  Wirt,  j$*^| 
Attorney-General. 

The  President,  some  months  after  his  inauguration, 
made  a  tour  through  the  Eastern  States.  The  sentiments 
of  his  address  had  become  diffused,  and  prepared  the  way 
for  his  receiving  a  warm  reception  in  the  Federal  town  of 
Boston,  and  throughout  New  England  generally.  It  was 
enthusiastically  proclaimed  that  the  people  were  once 
more  to  be  harmonious  in  their  views  of  national  policy. 

During  the  following  session  of  Congress  the  American 
Colonization  Society  was  formed  at  Washington.  It  was 
designed  to  provide  a  home  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
United  States  for  the  free  people  of  color  who  should  de- 
sire to  emigrate.  The  condition  of  these  people  in  the 
slaveholding  States,  as  well  as  the  laws  in  some  of  the  AL 
others,  that  forbade  their  settling  within  their  borders,  led 
to  the  formation  of  the  Society.  The  enterprise  was 
ardently  advocated  by  Henry  Clay,  Judge  Washington, 
John  Randolph,  and  other  southern  statesmen.  This  So- 


646  HISTOEY    OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP    cjety  established  the  now  flourishing  Colony  of  Liberia  on 
the^west  coast  of  Africa. 

1817. 

The  influence  of  the  Eevolution  had  not  been  without 
effect  upon  other  nations.  The  Spanish  colonies  of  South 
America  threw  off  their  allegiance  to  the  mother  country, 
and  declared  themselves  independent.  Under  the  pre- 
tence of  having  commissions  from  these  new  Kepublics, 
a  company  of  adventurers,  principally  drawn  from  Charles- 
ton and  Savannah,  seized  Amelia  Island,  off  the  harbor 
of  St.  Augustine.  These  worthies  soon  began  to  smuggle 
merchandise  and  slaves  into  the  United  States.  Yet,  as 
a  cloak  to  their  deeds,  they  proclaimed  they  were  block- 
ading the  port  of  St.  Augustine.  A  similar  haunt  for 
Ibuccaneers  had  existed  for  some  time  at  Galveston  in 
«  Texas.  Both  these  establishments  were  broken  up  by 
order  of  the  United  States  Government. 

The  condition  of  the  South  American  republics  excited 
great  sympathy  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  Some  were 
advocates  for  giving  them  aid,  while  others  were  anxious 
that  Congress  should,  at  least,  acknowledge  their  independ- 
ence. In  defiance  of  the  President's  proclamation  to  the 
contrary,  cruisers,  bearing  the  flag  of  these  Kepublics,  were 
fitted  out  in  some  of  the  ports  of  the  United  States  to 
prey  upon  Spanish  commerce. 

These  difficulties,  combined  with  other  causes,  led  to 
a  new  Indian  war  in  the  South.  Numbers  of  Seminoles, 
refugee  Creeks,  and  runaway  negroes,  living  in  the  Span- 
ish Territory,  south  of  Flint  river,  began  to  pillage  the 
Georgia  settlements  north  of  that  river.  General  Gaines, 
who  was  in  command  at  the  nearest  fort,  demanded  that 
these  murderers  and  robbers  should  be  given  up.  The 
Indians  refused,  on  the  ground  that  they  were  not  the  ag- 
gressors. Soon  after  a  collision  occurred,  in  which  several 
Nov.  Indians  were  killed.  Their  death  was  terribly  revenged 
30-  upon  the  people  on  board  a  boat  ascending  the  Apalachi- 


JACKSON    SUBDUES    THE   INDIANS — PURCHASE   OF    FLORIDA.      647 

cola,  with  supplies  for  Fort  Scott.     More  than  forty  per-  CHAP. 

sons,  consisting  of  men,  women,  and  children,  were  mas-  1 

sacred.  The  War  Department  ordered  General  Jackson  1817. 
to  invade  the  Indian  Territory,  and  "  bring  the  war  to  a 
speedy  and  effectual  close."  In  three  months  he  was  on 
the  ground,  with  an  army  composed  of  Georgians  and 
Tennesseeans.  He  moved  to  the  vicinity  of  where  Talla- 
hassee now  stands  ;  the  savages  made  little  resistance,  but 
abandoned  their  towns,  and  their  cattle  and  grain.  With 
his  usual  energy,  Jackson  pressed  on,  and,  without  cere- 
mony, seized  St.  Mark's,  on  Appalachee  Bay,  the  only  Mar. 
Spanish  fort  in  that  part  of  Florida,  on  the  ground  that 
its  officers  were  aiding  and  abetting  the  Indians  in  their 
hostilities  to  the  United  States.  One  of  the  American 
armed  vessels  on  the  coast  hoisted  British  colors,  and  two 
of  the  hostile  Creek  chiefs  were  decoyed  on  board.  These 
chiefs  Jackson  unceremoniously  hanged.  On  one  of  the  Apr! 
incursions  against  the  enemy,  two  British  subjects,  Kobert 
C.  Ambrister  and  Alexander  Arbuthnot,  traders  among 
the  Indians,  were  taken  prisoners.  These  two  men  were 
put  on  trial  for  their  lives  before  a  court-martial,  on  the 
charge  of  aiding  the  Indians.  They  were  found  guilty 
and  sentenced  to  death,  and  immediately  executed.  The 
measure  was  much  censured  as  unnecessary  and  unwar- 
ranted. Notwithstanding  the  protest  of  the  Spanish 
governor  against  his  invasion  of  Florida,  Jackson  soon  ap- 
peared before  Pensacola,  which  place  surrendered.  The 
governor  in  the  mean  time  fled  to  a  fort  further  down  the  May. 
bay,  and  finally  to  Havana. 

These  arbitrary  proceedings  were  protested  against  by 
Don  Onis,  the  Spanish  Minister  at  Washington.  The 
matter  however  was  not  pressed,  as  negotiations  were  soon 
after  entered  upon  to  purchase  the  territory  in  dispute. 

American  citizens  had  claims  amounting  to  five  mil- 
lions of  dollars  against  the  Spanish  government.  Don 
Onis  received  instructions  from  home,  that  authorized 


648  HISTOEY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES.  'g 

CHAP,  him  to  cede  Florida  to  the  United  States  for  these  claims. 

The  purchase  was  thus  made,  the  American  Government 

1821.  assuming  the  debt.  Two  years  later  Spain  ratified  the 
Treaty.  Florida  was  then  organized  as  a  Territory,  and 
General  Jackson  was  appointed  its  first  Governor. 

The  American  people  have  never  been  indifferent  to 
the  political  as  well  as  the  moral  aspects  of  slavery. 
From  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  till  the  time  of 
which  we  write,  the  conscience  and  the  sympathy  of  the 
religious  portion  of  the  nation,  both  North  and  South, 
found  their  expression  on  the  subject  in  memorials  ad- 
dressed to  their  ecclesiastical  assemblies,  whose  resolutions 
in  reply  condemned  the  system. 

1787.  The  Continental  Congress  legislated  specially  on  the 
subject  in  adopting  the  ordinance  by  which  the  region 
^  Ijgorth  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of  the  Mississippi,  was  conse- 
1790.  crated  to  freedom.  During  the  second  session  of  the  First 
Congress,  petitions  were  presented  to  that  body,  praying 
it  to  take  measures  to  free  the  nation  of  the  system.  The 
committee  to  whom  these  memorials  were  referred,  re- 
ported that  Congress  was  not  authorized  by  the  Constitu- 
tion to  interfere  with  slavery  as  existing  in  the  individual 
States.  In  accordance  with  this  view,  that  body  has  ever 
acted,  when  disposing  of  the  numerous  memorials  on  the 
subject  that  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  presented  to  it. 

The  Northern  States,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  had 
been  gradually  freeing  themselves  of  the  institution,  or 
making  provision  to  that  effect,  while  in  the  Southern 
States  a  different  sentiment  had  been  on  the  increase. 
The  acquisition  of  Louisiana  had  given  to  them  a  vast 
region  in  which  slave  labor  was  profitable,  especially  in 
the  cultivation  of  cotton.  These  antagonist  opinions 
were  suddenly  brought  into  collision,  and  a  strong  sectional 

ing  was  elicited. 

The  territory  of  Missouri  asked  permission  to  form  a 


16. 


DEBATES    ON   THE    RESTRICTION   OF    SLAVERY.  649 

constitution,  preparatory  to  her  admission  into  the  Union  CHAP. 

as  a  State.     When  the  question  was  before  the  House  of 1 

[Representatives,  James  W.  Tallmadge,  a  member  from  1819. 
New  York,  proposed  to  insert  a  clause,  prohibiting  the 
further  introduction  of  slaves  into  the  territory,  and  also 
another  clause  granting  freedom  to  the  children  of  slaves 
already  there,  when  they  should  attain  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  years. 

After  a  spirited  debate  both  these  propositions  were 
adopted.  The  day  following  the  passage  of  this  bill  came 
up  a  similar  one  to  organize  the  Territory  of  Arkansas. 
This  bill,  after  a  strenuous  effort  to  insert  similar  clauses, 
was  finally  passed  without  any  restriction  as  to  slavery. 

The  States  admitted  into  the  Union,  since  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  had  happened  to  come  in  alter- 
nately as  non-slaveholding,  and  as  slaveholding — Vermont 
and  Kentucky  ;  Tennessee  and  Ohio  ;  Louisiana  and 
diana  ;  Mississippi  and  Illinois.  As  Alabama  had  ap- 
plied for  admission  as  a  slave  State,  it  was  urged  that 
Missouri  should  be  admitted  as  free.  This  proposition 
soon  lost  its  force  by  the  application  of  Maine,  the  north- 
eastern jpart  of  Massachusetts,  presenting  herself  to  be 
admitted  as  a  free  State.  Here  was  an  offset  to  Alabama, 
leaving  Missouri  to  make  the  next  slave  State.- 

In  the  consideration  of  these  bills  the  subject  of 
slavery  restriction  in  the  territories  came  up  for  discussion. 
The  members  from  the  Southern  States  insisted  that  any 
restriction  upon  Missouri  would  violate  the  pledge  given 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Louisiana,  at  the  time  of  its  pur- 
chase, that  they  should  enjoy  "  all  the  privileges  of  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States ; "  that  such  a  restriction 
would  eventually  interfere  with  State  rights  ;  that  the 
citizens  of  slaveholding  States  had  the  right  to  take  their 
property  into  the  territories  of  the  Union.  It  was  urged 
that  it  would  be  an  act  of  humanity  and  a  blessing  to 
the  poor  slave,  whose  lot  was  so  hard  in  the  old  exhausted 


650  HISTORY   OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 

* 

CHAP.   States,  to  transfer  him  to  the  fertile  plains  of  the  west ; 

,  that  this  would  only  be  the  diffusion  of  the  system,  but 

1819.  not  its  extension,  as  the  number  of  slaves  would  not  be 
increased  thereby ;  and  that  the  prohibition  of  slavery 
would  diminish  emigration  from  the  South  into  the  ter- 
ritories. 

-ft  To  tJiese  arguments  it  was  replied  :  it  was  true  that 
Congress  was  forbidden  by  the  Constitution  to  interfere 
with  slavery  in  the  original  thirteen  States,  but  that  this 
did  not  apply  to  the  territories.  They  were  the  property 
of  the  Union,  and  Congress  had  the  control  of  their  or- 
ganization. Would  Congress  be  justified  in  spreading 
over  them  an  institution  which  even  its  advocates  on  the 
floor  of  the  house  had  again  and  again  deplored  as  an  evil  ? 

It  was  contended  that  slave  labor  and  free  labor  could 
not  coexist  on  the  same  soil ;  and  should  the  introduction 
of  a  few  thousands  of  slaves  exclude  millions  of  freemen 
from  the  territories  ?  l 

The  debate  was  conducted  with  great  animation, 
mingled  with  much  bitterness,  and  threats  to  dissolve  the 
Union.  The  intense  excitement  was  not  limited  to  the 
National  Legislature  ;  it  extended  throughout  the  country, 
and  it  was  by  no  means  diminished  by  the  speeches  made 
on  the  subject  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  nor  by  the  fact, 
which  the  discussion  revealed,  that  during  the  previous 
year  more  than  fourteen  thousand  slaves  had  been  smug- 
gled into  the  United  States,  from  Africa  and  the  West 
Indies. 

The  legislatures  of  some  of  the  Northern  States  ex- 
pressed their  wish  that  slavery  should  not  go  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  while  the  people  held  conventions  and  me- 
morialized Congress.  Opposite  views  were  as  strongly 
expressed  by  some  of  the  Southern  States.  Thus  the 
country  was  agitated  for  nearly  two  years,  and  the  difii- 

1  The  Debates  in  Congress,  Niles's  Register,  Vols  16,  17,  and  18. 


THE    MISSOURI    COMPROMISE.  651 

^ 

culty  was  still  unsettled.     When  the  bill  came  before  the  CHAP, 

Senate,  Jesse  B.  Thomas  of  Illinois  moved  as  an  amend-   1 

ment,  a  clause  forbidding  the  introduction  of  slavery  into  1820. 
the  Louisiana  Territory  north  of  thirty-six  degrees  and 
thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  and  west  of  the  proposed 
State  of  Missouri.  This  was  the  line  of  the  famous  Mis- 
souri Compromise.  The  House,  however,  would  not  at 
first  agree  to  this  arrangement ;  but  finally,  through  means 
of  a  committee  of  conference,  Maine  was  admitted,  and 
Missouri,  on  these  conditions,  after  she  should  adopt  a 
constitution. 

The  following  year,  when  the  constitution  of  Missouri 
was  presented  to  Congress,  it  was  found  to  contain  a 
clause  that  prohibited  free  people  of  color  from  settling  in 
the  State.  Though  this  clause  "  was  adopted  for  the 
sake  of  peace — for  the  sake  of  internal  tranquillity — and  to 
prevent  the  agitation  of  the  slave  question/' 1  yet  it  was 
viewed  far  differently  in  Congress,  and  was  the  occasion 
of  opening  the  restriction  question  with  all  its  bitterness. 
The  insertion  of  the  offensive  clause,  under  the  circum- 
stances, seemed  to  manifest  as  little  regard  for  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  as  respect  for  the  opinions  of 
those  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery.  The  citizens 
of  any  one  State  were,  by  the  Constitution,  entitled  to 
the  privileges  of  citizens  in  the  other  States.  Free  people 
of  color  were  thus  recognized  in  some  of  the  States,  but 
by  this  clause  they  were  deprived  of  their  rights.  Another 
committee  of  conference,  of  which  Henry  Clay  was  the 
prime  mover,  was  appointed  by  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Eepresentatives.  The  difficulty  was  again  compromised 
by  which  Missouri  was  to  be  admitted  on  the  express  con- 
dition that  she  would  expunge  the  obnoxious  clause,  and 
then  the  President  was  authorized  to  admit  her  by  procla- 
mation. The  Missouri  Legislature  complied,  and  the  fact 

1  Benton's  Thirty  Years'  View,  Vol.  i.  p.  8. 


652  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

OBAP.  Was  communicated  to  the  President,  who  proclaimed  her 
admission  to  the  family  of  States.     Thus  the  slavery  agi- 

1821.  tation  was  allayed  for  a  time,  but  the  same  question, 
ug'    under  different  phases,  has  returned  again  and  again,  and 

will  no  doubt  continue  thus  to  do  till  the  conscience  of 
the  nation  is  fully  satisfied  on  the  subject — for  questions 
involving  the  moral  and  political  relations  of  so  many  mil- 
lions cannot  be  lightly  passed  over. 

A  new  interest  was  awakened  in  behalf  of  the  South 

American  Kepublics.     Great  efforts  had  been  made  by 

Henry  Clay,  during  their  struggle,  to  induce  Congress  to 

acknowledge  their  independence,  but  it  was  then  thought 

Mar.    premature  ;  now  the  bill  was  passed.     The  next  year  the 

1822.  president  declared  in  his  message  that  "  as  a  principle  the 
American  Continents,  by  the  free  and  independent  posi- 
tion which  they  have  assumed  and  maintained,  are  hence- 
forth not  to  be  considered  as  subjects  for  future  coloniza- 
tion by  any   European   power."      This   has   since   been 
known  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  though  its  authorship,  it 
would  seem,  belongs  rather  to  his  Secretary  of  State,  John 
Quincy  Adams. 

Great  financial  distress  prevailed  during  this  period 
throughout  the  land.  The  immense  amount  of  foreign, 
especially  English,  merchandise  sent,  at  reduced  prices, 
into  the  country,  paralyzed  its  industry.  These  goods 
were  thus  sent  for  the  express  purpose  of  ruining  the 
American  manufactures,  called  into  existence  by  the 
necessities  of  the  war — an  object  which  they  effectually 
accomplished.  The  distress  of  the  people,  reacted  upon 
the  general  government.  -When  they  refused  to  buy,  be- 
cause unable  to  pay,  the  importations  fell  off,  and  as  a 
consequence,  the  revenue  was  so  diminished  that  the 
government,  from  necessity,  resorted  to  loans  in  order  to 
obtain  means  of  defraying  its  current  expenses.  The 
general  distress  was  not  a  little  increased  by  the  measures 
of  the  National  Bank.  Indeed  no  confidence  could  be 


THE    VISIT    OF    LAFAYETTE.  653 

placed  in  the  banks  except  those  of  New  England,  which  CHAP. 

redeemed   their  notes   in   specie  when  presented,  while  1 

those  in  other  parts  of  the  Union  became  bankrupt.  The  1824. 
density  of  the  population  of  the  New  England  States 
enabled  them  to  engage  with  advantage  in  manufactures, 
and  also  in  shipping,  and  the  coasting  trade,  which  was 
especially  profitable.  For  these  reasons  they  withstood 
the  financial  crisis,  while  the  agricultural  and  manufactur- 
ing interests  of  the  other  States  were  overwhelmed. 

The  country,  by  its  own  innate  energy,  began  to  re- 
cover from  these  financial  difficulties.  As  a  means  to 
accomplish  that  desirable  object,  an  increase  of  tariff  was 
imposed  on  imported  merchandise,  thus  to  protect  do- 
mestic industry  from  undue  foreign  competition,  to  create 
a  diversity  of  pursuits,  and  develop  the  resources  of  the 
nation. 

Congress  also  manifested  its  sense  of  justice  by  mak- 
ing provision  for  the  wants  of  the  surviving  officers  and    1818. 
soldiers  of  the  Kevolution,  and  for  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  those  deceased. 

The  last  year  of  Monroe's  administration  was  signal- 
ized by  an  event  highly  gratifying  to  the  people,  an  event 
linking  the  past  with  the  present,  the  days  of  conflict  and 
trial  with  the  days  of  peace  and  prosperity.  The  vener- 
able Lafayette  came  to  the  United  States,  the  invited 
guest  of  the  nation.  Around  every  fireside  tradition  had 
fondly  cherished  his  memory,  and  the  people  loved  him  as 
the  noble  and  generous  stranger  who,  in  the  days  of  their 
fathers,  had  sacrificed  his  fortune  and  shed  his  blood  in 
their  country's  cause.  They  vied  with  each  other  in  do- 
ing him  honor.  His  journey  from  State  to  State  was  one 
continued  triumphal  procession;  compared  with  this  sponta- 
neous expression  of  a  nation's  gratitude,  how  insignificant 
the  proudest  triumph  of  Roman  consul  or  emperor  !  The 
vessel  designated  to  carry  him  home  was  the  new  frigate 
Brandywine,  a  name — given  by  the  new  President,  John 


654  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


XLV?'  Qu*ncy  Adams  —  that  conveyed  a  delicate  compliment,  as 

___  \  on  the  banks  of  that  little  stream  he  was  wounded  in  his 

1825.    first   battle   in   the   cause   of  American   freedom.     The 

American  people  wished  to  manifest  still  further  their 

sense  of  obligation,  and  Congress  conferred  upon  him  two 

hundred  thousand  dollars  and  a  township  of  land. 

When  the  time  came  to  choose  a  successor  to  Monroe  — 
now  in  his  second  term  —  four  candidates  were  put  in 
nomination  ;  John  Quincy  Adams,  Henry  Clay,  General 
Jackson,  and  William  H.  Crawford.  No  one  of  the  can- 
didates received  a  majority  of  the  popular  vote,  and  the 
election  devolved  upon  the  House  of  Kepresentatives,  by 
whom  Adams  was  chosen.  John  C.  Calhoun  had  been 
chosen  Vice-President  by  the  popular  vote. 

This  election  gave  the  death-blow  to  the  custom  of 
nominating  candidates  for  the  Presidency  by  a  caucus 
held  by  certain  members  of  Congress.  Previous  to  this, 
for  twenty-four  successive  years,  the  candidates  had  been 
thus  nominated,  and  consequently  chosen  from  a  single 
State. 


CHAPTER    XLVIL 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS'  ADMINISTRATION. 

Manufactures  and  Internal  Improvements.  —  Indian  Lands  in.  Georgia.  — 
Death  of  the  ex-Presidents  Thomas  Jefferson  and  John  Adams.  —  Free 
Masonry.  —  Protection  to  American  Industry.  —  Debates  in  Congress.  — 
Presidential  Contest. 


THE  new  President  invited  able  and  experienced  men  to 
form  his  cabinet,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Henry  Clay,  _ 
as   Secretary  of  State.     This  administration  was  one  of   1825. 
remarkable  prosperity  ;  the  nation  was  gradually  advanc- 
ing in  wealth  and  happiness,  gaining  strength  at  home, 
and  securing  more  and  more  of  the  respect  of  nations 
abroad.     Every  branch  of  industry  was  increasing  in  pros- 
perity ;  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures. 

Numerous  companies  had  been  formed  for  the  purpose 
of  making  iron  nails,  and  also  for  the  manufacture  of  1815. 
broadcloths,  though  the  latter  were  soon  involved  in  ruin 
by  "  a  deluge  of  English  cloths."  In  those  days  fine  wool 
was  worth  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  pound,  while  badly  made 
broadcloth  cost  from  eight  to  twelve  dollars  a  yard. 

The  wars  of  Europe  opened  a  wide  field  for  enterprise 
in  the  carrying  trade.  American  genius  and  art  produced 
the  style  of  ship  known  as  the  clipper.  These  far  out- 
stripped all  others  in  sailing  ;  they  made  rapid  voyages, 
and,  what  was  important  in  those  days,  they  were  able 
very  often  to  evade  the  French  and  English  cruisers.  At 
first,  the  United  States  had  but  little  of  their  own  products 


656  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  to  send  to  the  old  world,  but  presently  Eli  Whitney  in- 

vented  the  cotton-gin,  by  which  the  seed  was  separated 

1Y93.  from  the  cotton,  and  that  gradually  became  the  most  im- 
portant article  of  export. 

The  great  National  Koad — the  work  of  the  General 
Government — extending  across  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
from  Cumberland,  Maryland,  to  Wheeling,  on  the  Ohio, 
and  to  be  continued  to  the  Mississippi,  had  just  been 

1820.  completed,  at  an  expense  of  one  million  seven  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  It  was  commenced  in  Jefferson's  ad- 
ministration, and  had  been  fourteen  years  in  building. 
Its  beneficial  effects  upon  the  country  were  very  great,  in 
thus  connecting  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  with  the  seaboard. 
A  still  more  important  work  was  also  finished — the 

1825.  Erie  Canal,  uniting  the  Hudson  and  the  waters  of  the 
great  lakes.  It  was  the  work  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  was  completed  after  a  labor  of  eight  years.  The  pro- 
ject was  at  first  deemed  visionary  and  impracticable ; 
but  owing  principally  to  the  energy  of  De  Witt  Clinton, 
privately,  as  well  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature  and  as 
Governor,  the  work  was  carried  through.  The  completion 
and  success  of  these  improvements  encouraged  the  con- 
struction of  others  in  various  parts  of  the  Union — one, 

1832.  the  Ohio  Canal,  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  river.  The 
first  railway  was  the  Quincy,  in  Massachusetts,  designed 

1827.  to  transport  granite  to  the  sea-shore.  The  first  locomo- 
tive used  in  the  United  States  was  on  the  Hudson  and 

1832.    Mohawk  Kailroad. 

A  difficult  question  arose  in  relation  to  the  removal  of 

the  Creeks  and  the  Cherokees,  from  their  lands  in  Georgia 

§  and   Alabama,   to   the   region    beyond    the   Mississippi. 

Georgia  claimed  jurisdiction  over  the  Indians  within  her 

territory.       Originally  claiming  the  region  west  of  her 

1802.    boundary,  she  ceded  it  to  the  United  States,  on  condition 

that  the  latter  should,  by  purchase,  extinguish  the  title 


DEATH    OF    EX-PRESIDENTS   JEFFERSON   AND    ADAMS.  65*7 

of  the  Indian  lands  reserved  within  her  own  limits.  The 
national  government  promised  to  fulfil  its  part  of  the 
agreement  u  as  early  as  the  same  could  be  peaceably  ob-  1825. 
tained  on  reasonable  terms/'  Twenty-five  years  had 
passed,  and  these  titles  had  not  been  purchased.  The 
Indians  were  not  willing  to  sell  their  territory.  However, 
a  treaty  had  been  recently  made  by  some  of  the  chiefs, 
who  ceded  the  lands,  but  the  great  majority  of  the  Indians 
declared  these  chiefs  had  no  authority  to  sell  the  property 
of  the  nation.  Thus,  according  to  the  original  contract, 
the  national  government  could  not  extinguish  the  Indian 
titles. 

The  government  cancelled  this  treaty,  but  the  State 
of  Georgia  determined  to  enforce  it.  The  latter  sent  sur- 
veyors into  the  Indian  country,  to  divide  the  lands  into 
portions  suitable  for  farms,  before  distributing  them  by 
lottery  to  the  citizens  of  the  State.  The  Federal  govern- 
ment took  the  part  of  the  poor  Indians,  and  the  President 
proclaimed  that  he  would  enforce  the  laws  committed  to 
his  trust,  while  Troup,  the  bellicose  Governor  of  Georgia,  * 
wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War  :  "  From  the  first  decisive 
act  of  hostility,  you  will  be  considered  and  treated  as  a 
public  enemy."  The  matter  for  the  present  was  adjusted 
by  the  Creeks  consenting  to  dispose  of  their  lands,  and  to 
emigrate.  Kather  than  be  thus  harassed  they  were  will- 
ing to  remove  from  their  happy  homes,  and  give  up  their 
hopes  of  civilization. 

This  year  was  marked  by  the  deaths  of  two  dis- 
tinguished men,  whose  names  are  identified  with  the 
history  of  the  government — John  Adams  and  Thomas 
Jefierson.  Both  were  men  of  liberal  education,  and  both 
chose  the  profession  of  the  law  ;  both  had  been  consistent 
and  strenuous  advocates  of  national  independence,  and 
were  upon  the  committee  which  proposed  that  famous 
declaration.  The  one  drew  it  up,  and  the  other  was  its 
most  efficient  supporter  ;  both  signed  it ;  both  had  been 
42 


658  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

xEvFi  on  f°re^£n  missions  ;  both  were  first  Vice-Presidents,  and 
then  became  Presidents.  "They  ended  their  earthly 
career  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  way  ;  in  the 
regular  course  of  nature,  in  the  repose  and  tranquillity  of 
retirement,  in  the  bosoms  of  their  families,  on  the  soil 
which  their  labors  had  contributed  to  make  free,"  and 
within  a  few  hours  of  each  other,  on  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  American  independence. 

"'•- 

A  certain  William  Morgan,  of  Western  New  York,  a 
member  of  the  society  of  Free  Masons,  suddenly  disap- 
peared, he  having  been  seized  and  forcibly  carried  off. 
Sept.  He  had  proposed  to  publish  a  book  revealing  the  secrets 
of  the  order,  some  of  whose  members  were  charged  with  his 
murder.  The  affair  created  a  great  excitement,  which  led 
to  the  formation  of  a  political  party,  whose  avowed  object 
was  to  exclude  Free  Masons  from  office.  In  several  of 
the  States  the  party  polled  a  large  number  of  votes,  but 
in  a  year  or  two  it  disappeared. 

The  manufacturing  interests  were  still  laboring  to  sus- 

tain themselves  against  foreign  competition.     The  senti- 

ment prevailed,  especially  in  the  northern  States  and  in 

some  of  the  southern,  that  measures  should  be  taken  to 

protect  the  industry  of  the  nation.     In  accordance  with 

this   view,  a   convention    of  delegates  from  twenty-two 

j  ,       States  of  the  Union  assembled  at  Harrisburg,  in  Pennsyl- 

1827'.    vania.     Four  of  the  slave  States  did  not  send  delegates. 

The  Convention  memorialized  Congress  to  grant  pro- 
tection to  American  industry  ;  to  impose  a  tariff  on  im- 
ported goods,  sufficiently  high  to  shield  American  pro- 
ducers of  the  same  articles  from  the  ruinous  effects  of 
foreign  competition  ;  and  they  also  asked  that  this  policy 
should  be  fixed,  and  thus  give  stability  to  the  enterprise 
of  the  country.  Capital  would  not  be  invested  in  domes- 
tic manufactures,  if  they  were  liable  at  any  time  to  be 
ruined  either  by  the  combination  of  foreign  competitors 


THE    TARIFF — DEBATES   IN    CONGRESS.  659 

&; 

or  by  change  of  policy  at  home.     The  people  of  New  CHAP. 

England  had  complained  of  these  changes.     Their  climate  '. 

and  soil  forbade  their  becoming  rivals  of  their  sister  States  1828. 
in  agriculture,  and  their  industry  had  been  turned  into 
other  channels,  especially  those  of  commerce  and  the 
fisheries.  Upon  them  had  fallen  nearly  all  the  losses 
inflicted  by  the  cruisers  of  France  and  England,  and  yet 
they  had  been  more  discouraged  and  had  suffered  more 
loss  by  the  embargoes  and  other  restrictions  of  their  own 
government.  During  this  period,  the  central  position  of 
New  York  had  been  gradually  drawing  to  herself  much  of 
the  commerce  and  shipping  that  once  belonged  to  Boston. 
A  territory  so  extensive,  and  climates  so  diverse,  brought 
into  existence  many  kinds  of  industry  that  were  liable  to 
be  injured  or  ruined  by  foreign  competition.  At  first 
New  England  was  opposed  to  the  policy  of  protection, 
and  the  Middle  and  Southern  States  were  in  its  favor. 
Now  this  was  reversed.  New  England  had  been  forced 
to  adapt  her  industry  to  the  change  of  national  policy, 
while  the  South  had  changed  her  views. 

Said  Webster,  when  this  bDl  was  under  discussion  in 
Congress  :  "  New  England  held  back  and  labored  to  re- 
strain the  General  Government  from  the  adoption  of  this 
policy,  but  when  it  was  adopted  she  then  adapted  herself 
to  it,  and  turned  herself  to  manufactures,  but  now  just  as 
she  is  successful,  another  change  is  to  be  brought  about, 
and  she  set  adrift  in  another  direction." 

The  South,  on  the  other  hand,  expected  to  reap  the 
harvest,  not  merely  from  the  exports  of  the  raw  material, 
but  also  a  due  share  of  the  profits  arising  from  manu- 
factures. She  was  disappointed  in  seeing  northern  towns 
becoming  cities,  and  southern  cities  decaying  ;  the  North 
a  money  lender,  the  South  a  borrower.  Before  the  Revo- 
lution she  was  pre-eminently  the  richest  part  of  the 
colonies,  a  position  which  she  fully  expected  to  retain 
after  that  period.  Hers  were  the  only  exports  from  the 


*• 


660  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  land  ;  the  North  was  dependent  upon  commerce  and  fish- 
eries  ;  both  precarious.  Since  the  Kevolution,  the  South  ^ 

1828.  had  exported  more  in  value  than  three  times  all  that  the 
mines  of  Mexico  had  produced  for  the  same  period,  yet 
she  did  not  prosper.  This  effect  she  attributed  to  the 
protective  tariffs  of  the  National  Government.  She  failed 
to  notice  that  this  decline  began  before  these  tariffs  were 

May  imposed.  Other  causes  aided  in  the  result.1  A  bill 
passed  Congress,  imposing  higher  duties  upon  cottons  and 
woollens,  and  also  other  foreign  articles,  which  would  come 
into  competition  with  those  of  domestic  origin.  The  dis- 

«  satisfaction  felt  in  South  Carolina  led,  two  years  after,  to 
the  open  avowal  on  her  part,  of  the  doctrine  of  nullifica- 
tion and  secession,  based  upon  the  ground  that  the  act 
was  unconstitutional. 

The  contest  for  the  office  of  President  was  between 
Adams  and  General  Jackson.  The  "  era  of  good  feeling  " 
had  passed  away,  and  party  lines  were  stringently  drawn. 
The  spirit  of  the  contest  was  more  violent  than  ever  be- 
fore ;  and  the  whole  nation  seemed  moved  to  its  very 
centre.  The  denunciation  of  the  candidates  and  their 
principles  was,  on  both  sides,  unjust,  unreasonable  and 
disgraceful.  The  choice  fell  upon  Jackson  as  President, 
"  •.*  and  Calhoun  as  Vice-President.  The  election  over,  the 

excitement  calmed  down.  This  fact,  as  usual,  was  ad- 
duced as  an  evidence  of  the  stability  of  our  institutions, 
and  of  the  willingness  of  the  people  to  submit  to  the  will 
of  the  majority.  Yet  who  does  not  lament  such  exhi- 
bitions of  party  strife,  or  their  demoralizing  effects  ? 

The  nation  had  never  been  in  a  condition  so  pros- 
perous as  at  this  time.  The  national  debt  was  much 
diminished,  and  a  surplus  of  more  than  five  millions 
of  dollars  was  in  the  public  treasury.  The  blessings 
of  peace  had  been  showered  upon  the  land,  and  it  was 
.  ^ '  J  rejoicing  in  prosperity  and  abundance — the  rewards  of 
active  industry. 

1  Benton's  Thirty  Years'  View,  Chap,  xxxiv.,  vH,  i. 


t 


•  . 

*^«* 


* 


I  ' 


* 

* 

•   w 

CHAPTEE   XLVIII. 

JACKSON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 


A 

Appointments  to  Office.  —  Removal  of  the  Indians  from  Georgia.  —  Bank  of 
the  United  States.  —  Hayne  and  "Webster's  Debate.  —  Nullification.  —  The 
Compromise  Bill  ;  its  final  Passage.  —  Removal  of  the  Deposits.  — 
Effect  upon  the  Country.-  —  Indian  Wars.  —  Black  Hawk  ;  Osceola.  —  In- 
demnity for  French  Spoliations. 

THE  new  President  nominated  the  members  of  his  cabi-  CHAP. 
net,  at  the  head  of  which  he  placed  Martin  Yan  Buren  XLYIIL 
as  Secretary  of  State.  The  Postmaster-General  was  now  1829. 
for  the  first  time  admitted  as  a  Cabinet  Officer. 

The  President  professed  to  take  the  Constitution  as 
the  chart  by  which  he  should  be  governed  in  fulfilling  the 
duties  of  his  office  ;  rather,  it  would  seem,  as  he  himself  •  „ 
understood  it,  than  as  expounded  by  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  His  vigorous  arm  was  immediately 
exerted  in  favor  of  his  political  friends,  and  this  gave  to 
his  administration  a  decided  partisan  character.  The 
former  Presidents,  during  a  period  of  forty-four  years,  had 
removed  sixty-four  persons  from  office  ;  during  his  rule 
of  eight  years,  Jackson  removed  six  hundred  and  ninety, 
and  put  in  their  places  his  political  friends.  These  sweep- 
ing removals  secured  ardent  partisans,  as  well  as  produced 
bitter  opponents  ;  but  regardless  of  either  friend  or  foe, 
the  President  pursued  the  course  he  had  marked  out,  with 
his  wonted  determination.  . 


I 


...•     *  '*   , 

9        • 
662  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

XLVm'  Curing  his  administration,  an  unusual  number  of  ex- 
—  citing  questions  came  up  for  consideration,  and  the  many 
1829.  interests  thus  involved  affected  the  people  in  every  State  * 
in  the  Union.  The  first  important  measure,  was  the  re- 
moval of  the  Cherokee  Indians  from  the  State  of  Georgia. 
They  had  been  protected  by  the  General  Government, 
under  Adams.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
had  decided  in  their  favor,  and  against  the  action  of  the 
State  ;  but  that  decision  had  little  influence  with  the 
President.  He  did  not  rebuke  the  State,  when  she  be- 
gan to  drive  them  from  their  homes,  and  to  distribute 
their  lands,  many  of  them  cultivated  farms,  among  her 
own  citizens.  He  sent  General  Scott  with  troops  to  re- 
move them,  and  his  kindness  and  persuasions  induced 
them  to  migrate  peacefully  ;  yet  with  lamentations,  they 
1833.  took  leave  of  "  the  beloved  land." 

Their  sacrifices  as  a  people  were  very  great,  not  only 
in  the  loss  of  property,  but  in  the  check  given  to  their 
industrial  and  moral  progress.  The  self-denying  labors 
of  missionaries  and  teachers  had  enabled  them  to  advance 
rapidly  toward  a  Christianized  civilization.  They  derived 
their  sustenance  from  their  own  cultivated  fields  ;  they 
clothed  themselves  almost  entirely  with  the  fabrics  which 
their  women  spun  and  wove  ;  they  lived  in  settled  habi- 
g  0  tations,  some  of  wood  and  some  of  brick ;  they  made 

provision  for  the  education  of  their  children — five  hun- 
dred of  whom  were  in  schools — besides  endowing  a  Na- 
tional Academy  for  the  youth  further  advanced.  They 
also  established  a  newspaper,  printed  partly  in  English, 
and  partly  in  their  own  language.  "  We  hope,"  said 
they,  "  that  with  God's  blessing  the  time  will  soon  come 
when  the  words  war-whoop  and  scalping-knife  will  be 
heard  no  more." 

Two  of  their  missionaries,  the  Eev.  S.  A.  Worcester 
and  Dr.  Elisur  Butler,  were  ruthlessly  imprisoned  in  the 
penitentiary  by  the  authority  of  the  State  of  Georgia, 

ffi.  •  -.1 

••**•  ••.^.'",li-:  • .  ,<;•,*•*. 


I  >.A}  t>iei.oiu.  fe  C1 
• 


UNITED    STATES    BANK — FOOT'S    RESOLUTION. 


663 


though  they  acted  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  the  land,   CHAP. 

as  interpreted  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  ' 

in  refusing  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  State.  1829. 

Chief  Justice  Marshall,  in  pronouncing  the  opinion  of 
the  court,  declared  the  act  of  the  State  to  be  "  repugnant  to 
the  Constitution,  treaties  and  laws  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  therefore  void,  and  ought  to  be  reversed  and  annulled," 
and  the  prisoners  discharged.  Yet  these  men  obtained 
no  redress  on  their  appeal  to  the  General  Government, 
either  for  themselves  or  the  Indians. 

When  at  length  liberated  from  prison,  the  missionaries 
accompanied  the  Indians  to  their  distant  homes  beyond 
the  Mississippi,  there  to  labor  for  their  good. 

W\  ''•*•.  -qp. 

The  President,  in  his  first  message  to  Congress,  inti- 
mated his  hostility  to  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  and 
his  design  of  refusing  his  signature  to  any  bill  renewing  its 
charter. 

However,  when  the  stockholders  of  the  Bank  applied 
to  Congress,  a  bill  to  renew  its  charter  passed  both  Houses, 
and  the  President  refused  to  sign  it.  He  gave,  as  a  reason, 
his  opinion  that  Congress  had  no  constitutional  authority 
to  charter  such  an  institution,  and  moreover  he  deemed  it 
inexpedient  to  continue  the  Bank. 

As  the  bill  could  not  obtain  the  requisite  two-thirds 
vote  to  become  a  law,  the  Bank  was  forced  to  close  its 
affairs,  when  its  charter  should  expire.  1836. 


Senator  Foot,  of  Connecticut,  submitted  a  resolution  of 
inquiry  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  public  lands.  The  de- 
bate on  the  resolution  took  a  wide  range,  in  the  course  of 
which  the  young  and  brilliant  Senator,  Kobert  Y.  Hayne, 
of  South  Carolina,  avowed  the  opinion  that  any  State  had 
a  right,  as  a  sovereign  power,  to  declare  null  and  void  any 
act  of  Congress,  which  that  State  deemed  unconstitutional. 
This  was  the  first  time  that  the  doctrine  of  nullification  *< 


1830. 


% 


.  #• 

664  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

•-';• 

xmif   ^a(^  ^een  °Penly  maintained  in  the  councils  of  the  nation — 
-  the  sentiments  rather  of  Calhoun  the  Vice-President  than 

1832.  of  the  speaker  himself:  a  doctrine  based  upon  the  as- 
sumption that  the  National  Government  was  a  compact 
between  the  States,  and  that  any  of  them  could  at  pleas- 
ure recede  from  the  Union. 

Daniel  Webster  at  once  pointed  out  the  injurious  re- 
sults to  the  Union  if  these  principles  were  acted  upon. 

This  debate,  continued  for  several  days,  and  not  only  from 
the  masterly  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted,  but  from 
the  influence  it  exerted  upon  the  minds  of  the  American 
people,  was  one  of  the  most  important  that  ever  occurred 
in  the  Halls  of  Congress.  Webster  clearly  exposed  the 
fallacy  of  the  argument  adduced  to  prove  that  the  Na- 
tional Government  was  a  compact  of  sovereign,  independ- 
ent States  ;  or  that  any  of  them  were  at  liberty  to  with- 
draw from  the  Union,  without  the  consent  of  the  others.  On 
the  contrary,  he  urged  that  the  Constitution  was  the  work  of 
the  people  themselves,  not  as  members  of  each  independent 
State,  but  as  members  of  all  the  States  ;  and  that  the 
Supreme  Court  was  the  tribunal  authorized  to  decide  in 
cases  of  conflict  between  the  States  and  the  General 
Government.  Says  the  venerable  Chancellor  Kent  in 
reference  to  the  discussion,  and  especially  Webster's 
speech  :  "  It  turned  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the 
great  doctrines  of  national  rights  and  national  union. 
Constitutional  law  was  rescued  from  the  archives  of  our 
tribunals  and  the  libraries  of  our  lawyers,  placed  under 
the  eye,  and  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  the  American 
people."  And  heartily  did  they  respond  to  the  sentiment 
that  the  "  Union  must  be  preserved."  The  importance 
of  the  subject  awakened  an  intense  interest  in  the  nation, 
and  the  reports  of  the  discussion  were  read  and  commented 
upon  by  millions.  This  debate  really  settled  the  question 
nullification  ;  and  its  influence  upon  the  public  mind 


- 


4* 
REVISION    OF   THE    TARIFF  —  NULLIFICATION.  665 

' 


.  .„ 

created  a  moral  power  which  gave  a  death-blow  to  the  C 

dangerous  design  then  in  existence.  _  '. 

1832. 

Congress,  in  revising  the  tariff,  instead  of  diminishing, 
increased  the  duties  on  many  articles.  This  gave  still  July. 
greater  offence  to  the  cotton-growing  States,  who  com- 
plained, that  they  in  consequence  paid  exorbitant  prices, 
especially  for  cottons  and  woollens.  The  question  be- 
came in  some  respects  a  sectional  one.  The  North  on  the 
one  hand  had  accommodated  her  industry  to  manufac- 
tures ;  she  had  acquired  skill,  and  was  unwilling  to  sac- 
rifice this  and  also  an  immense  amount  of  invested 
capital.  She  thought  it  unjust  that  her  interests  should 
be  injured,  if  not  ruined,  by  a  change  of  the  policy  under 
which  she  had  been  compelled  to  turn  her  attention  to 
that  particular  sphere  of  industry.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  South,  pointing  to  her  exhausted  fields,  especially  in 
the  Atlantic  States,  and  their  diminution  of  population, 
exclaimed  :  See  what  the  tariff  has  done  !  Says  McDuffie 
of  South  Carolina,  on  the  floor  of  Congress  :  "  Look,  sir,  at 
the  present  aspect  of  the  Southern  States.  In  no  part  of 
Europe  will  you  see  the  same  indications  of  decay.  De- 
serted villages,  houses  falling  to  ruin,  impoverished  lands 
thrown  out  of  cultivation."  The  reason  that  the  South 
did  not  derive  benefit  from  the  imposition  of  a  tariff  was 
admitted  by  Hayne  himself.  "  The  slaves,"  said  he  in 
the  Senate,  "  are  too  improvident,  too  incapable  of  minute, 
constant,  delicate  attention,  and  the  persevering  industry 
which  is  essential  to  the  success  of  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments." Similar  sentiments  were  expressed  by  other 
members  of  Congress. 

The  States  of  Virginia,  Georgia  and  South  Carolina 
were  the  most  opposed  to  the  measure,  but  only  the  latter 
took  the  responsibility  of  openly  resisting  the  collection 
of  duties  imposed  by  this  law  of  Congress.  She  published 
an  ordinance  to  that  effect,  and  denied  the  authority  of 

*' 


666  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   the  General  Government  to  enforce  what  she  deemed  an 

ALVlil. 

unconstitutional  law. 

1833.  The  President  immediately  issued  a  proclamation, 
moderate  in  its  language  but  determined  in  tone.  In 
plain  terms  he  expressed  his  views  upon  the  subject,  and 
intimated  that  he  would  vindicate  the  power  intrusted  to 
his  hands.  He  appealed  "to  the  understanding  and 
patriotism  of  the  people  of  the  State,  and  warned  them 
of  the  consequences  that  must  inevitably  result  from 
obeying  the  dictates  of  the  convention,"  which  had  ad- 
vised resistance  to  the  law. 

Previous  to  this,  Calhoun  had  resigned  the  vice-presi- 
dency, and  now  appeared  in  the  Senate  in  the  place  of 
Hayne,  who  had  retired  to  take  the  office  of  Governor  of 
South  Carolina,  and  who  now  replied  to  the  President  by 
jj  a  counter  proclamation.  He  warned  the  people  of  the 
State  against  "  the  dangerous  and  pernicious  doctrines  " 
in  that  document,  and  called  upon  them  to  disregard 
"  those  vain  menaces  "  of  military  force,  "  to  be  fully  pre- 
pared to  sustain  the  dignity  and  protect  the  liberties  of 
the  State,  if  need  be,  with  their  lives  and  fortunes." 

Nothing  daunted,  South  Carolina  proclaimed  herself 
hostile  to  the  Union,  and  resolved  to  maintain  her  rights 
as  a  Sovereign  State,  by  organizing  troops  and  providing 

mnitions  of  war.     Meantime  her  Legislature  passed  laws 
lich  forbade  the  collection  of  United   States  revenue 

dthin  her  boundaries  ;  and  intimated  that  if  an  attempt 
was  made  by  the  General  Government  to  enforce  the  col- 
lection of  such  duties,  she  would  exercise  her  right  to 
secede  from  the  Union,  and  "  forthwith  proceed  to  organ- 
ize a  separate  government."  The  attitude  of  the  State 
was  imposing  and  resolute.  But  the  President  was 
equally  as  decided  in  his  measures  to  enforce  the  laws. 
Soon  a  national  vessel,  with  troops  on  board,  appeared  in 
the  harbor  of  Charleston  ;  they  came  to  aid  the  officers 
in  the  collection  of  the  revenue.  The  State  receded  from 


THE    COMPROMISE    BILL — ITS   FINAL   PASSAGE.  667 

her  defiant  position,  and  the  storm  calmed  down  ;  the  CHAP. 

famous  Tariff  Compromise,  just  passed  by  Congress,  fur-  '. 

nished  a  convenient  reason  for  that  act  of  prudence.  1833. 

Henry  Clay  was  the  principal  author  of  the  measure, 
and  to  him  belongs  the  honor  of  introducing  it  into  the 
Senate.  The  Compromise  consisted  in  gradually  dimin- 
ishing for  ten  years  the  imposts,  till  they  should  arrive  at 
a  uniform  rate  of  twenty  per  cent. — the  revenue  standard 
for  which  the  opponents  of  the  tariff  contended. 

The  secret  history  of  the  final  passage  of  that  Com- 
promise bill  in  the  Senate  is  singular.  Its  opponents 
had  denounced  the  principle  of  protection  to  American 
industry,  as  unconstitutional.  In  order  to  prevent  op- 
position to  the  bill  on  that  ground,  after  it  had  become  a 
law,  it  was  necessary  that  those  opposing  it  should  be 
induced  to  vote  for  it  ;  to  vote,  not  only  for  the  bill  as  a 
whole,  but  for  its  separate  articles.  The  crisis  was  near. 
The  President  had  determined  to  enforce  the  law ;  he 
scouted  the  idea  of  compromise,  and  stood  ready  to  arrest 
the  leaders,  especially  Calhoun,  and  bring  him  to  trial  for 
treason.  John  M.  Clayton,  of  Delaware,  privately  gave 
the  parties  to  understand  that  he  should  move  to  lay  the 
bill  on  the  table,  where  it  should  lie,  unless  the  nullifiers 
should  one  and  all  give  it  their  individual  support.  He 
assured  them  that  there  was  a  sufficient  number  of 
senators  (whose  names  he  refused  to  give),  to  prevent  its 
passage,  if  this  condition  was  not  complied  with.  The 
amendments  to  the  bill  had  all  passed  but  the  last  ;  the 
one  which  embodied  the  principle  of  home  valuation. 
This  Calhoun  and  his  friends  opposed  with  great  vehe- 
mence. Clayton  moved  to  lay  the  bill  on  the  table,  and 
no  persuasion  could  induce  him  to  withdraw  the  motion. 
The  opponents  of  the  measure  withdrew  from  the  hall  for 
a  few  minutes,  to  consult.  One  of  their  number  presently 
returned  and  requested  Clayton  to  withdraw  his  motion, 
to  give  time  to  consider  the  amendment.  He  consented, 


668  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

xivin   W^  *ke  understanding  that,  if  necessary,  he  would  re- 

new   it.      That   night,  consultations   were   held   by  the 

1883.  Southern  members.  The  next  day,  when  the  bill  was 
under  consideration,  it  was  intimated  that  it  could  be 
passed  without  the  aid  of  Calhoun's  vote.  But  Clayton 
was  inflexible — his  vote  must  be  given  for  the  bill,  or 
3ar'  nothing  would  be  secured  by  it.  It  was  the  last  day  of 
the  session — another  Congress  would  not  meet  for  months. 
It  was  a  solemn  hour.  If  the  impending  collision  be- 
tween the  State  and  the  Government  should  occur,  who 
could  tell  what  would  be  the  result  ?  How  could  South 
Carolina  be  extricated  from  the  difficulties  of  her  position  ? 
Calhoun  remained  to  the  last,  his  friends  one  by  one 
voting  for  the  amendment.  After  making  a  few  remarks 
on  the  conditions  upon  which  he  should  act,  he  also  voted 
for  the  amendment,  and  afterward  for  the  bill  as  a  whole.1 
On  the  fourth  of  March,  General  Jackson  entered 
upon  his  second  term  of  office,  with  Martin  Van  Buren,  of 
New  York,  as  Vice-President.  The  principal  opposing 
candidate  was  Henry  Clay. 

According  to  its  charter,  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  was  the  legal  depository  of  the  public  funds.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  only,  with  the  sanction  of 
Congress,  had  authority  to  remove  them. ;  By  resolution, 
Congress  had  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  public 
moneys  were  safe  in  the  keeping  of  the  Bank.  The 
President  thought  differently.  When  Congress  was  not 
in  session,  he  made  known  to  the  Cabinet  his  intention  to 
remove  the  public  funds  from  the  custody  of  the  Bank, 
and  to  transfer  them  to  certain  State  Banks.  The 
majority  of  the  Cabinet  were  opposed  to  the  measure. 
As  he  could  not  reach  the  money  except  through  the: 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  William  J.  Duane,  he  directed 

1  Thirty  Years'  View,  Vol.  i.  Chap.  Ixxxv.  *, 

.        •  W 


* 

*  it      & 


KEMOVAL   OF    THE    DEPOSITS — INDJAN    WARS.  669 

him  to  remove  the  deposits  ;  but  the  Secretary  viewing  CHAP. 
,1  a  •  i  •  t  XLVIII. 
the  measure  as  unnecessary,  unwise,  arbitrary,  and  un-  

just,"    refused.      The    President   immediately   dismissed    1833. 
him   from   office,  and   appointed   Koger  B.  Taney,  the 
present  Chief  Justice,  in  his  place,  who  hastened  to  issue 
an  order  to  the  collectors,  forbidding  them  to  deposit  the     Oct. 
public  moneys  in  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.     The 
intention  being  to  withdraw  the  funds  already  in  its  pos- 
session, as  they  should  be  needed  in  defraying  the  current 
expenses  of  the  government. 

The  measure  spread  distrust  through  the  whole  mer-  * 
cantile  community,  and  destroyed  that  confidence  which 
is  essential  to  the  success  of  business  transactions.  The 
notes  of  the  Bank  were  at  par  throughout  the  Union,  but 
now  the  whole  system  of  exchange  was  thrown  into  con- 
fusion. Universal  distress  prevailed.  The  wages  of  daily 
laborers  were  especially  depressed.  Memorials  from  all 
parts  of  the  country  poured  into  Congress,  asking  it  to 
adopt  measures  that  would  give  relief.  After  a  time,  the 
State  banks  endeavored  to  relieve  the  monetary  distress 
by  liberal  loans.  These  loans,  in  turn,  were  the  occasion 
of  exciting  a  spirit  of  speculation  that  produced  still 
greater  evils. 

The  Administration  was  not  exempt  from  Indian 
troubles.  Some  of  the  north-western  tribes,  led  by  Black 
Hawk,  a  chief  of  the  Sac  nation,  made  incursions  against  1332. 
the  frontier  settlements  of  Illinois.  The  government  sent 
troops,  under  General  Atkinson,  who  soon,  with  the  aid 
of  the  militia,  drove  the  savages  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
In  one  of  the  skirmishes,  Black  Hawk  himself  was  cap- 
tured. To  impress  him  with  the  greatness  of  the  nation, 
he  was  first  taken  to  Washington,  and  then  to  visit  the 
principal  eastern  cities. 

Two  years  afterward  an  attempt  was  made  by  the 

government  to  remove  the  Seminole  Indians  beyond  the 

$*•-  t 


670  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


CHAP.  Mississippi  Kiver.     They  refused  to  emigrate,  and  another 
'  Indian  war  was  the  consequence.     Skulking  through  the 

1834.  swamps  and  woods  of  Florida,  the  savages  would  suddenly 
dash  into  the  settlements  to  murder  and  destroy.  Many 
valuable  lives  were  thus  lost.  Among  these  were  Major 
Dade,  and  more  than  a  hundred  men,  who  all  perished 
by  falling  into  an  ambuscade.  On  the  same  day,  the 
United  States'  agent,  Mr.  Wiley  Thompson,  and  five  of 
his  friends  were  killed  and  scalped  by  Osceola,  the  leading 
chief  of  the  Seminoles.  The  year  before,  Thompson  had 
injudiciously  offended  the  savage,  by  confining  him  in 
irons  for  a  day.  Though  he  feigned  friendship,  his  proud 
r  spirit  thirsted  to  revenge  the  insult.  The  Creeks  joined 
the  Seminoles,  and  attacked  several  villages,  both  in 
Georgia  and  Alabama.  The  unhealthy  vapors  of  the 
swamps,  the  bites  of  poisonous  snakes  and  insects,  inflict- 
ed intense  sufferings  upon  the  troops.  It 'was  impossible 
to  subdue  the  Indians,  who,  after  their  attacks  upon  the 
Whites,  would  retreat  to  their  hiding-places  in  the  swamps. 
Led  by  Osceola,  the  war,  or  rather  skirmishing,  continued 
for  years  ;  the  troops  were  baffled  again  and  again.  At 
length  his  own  policy,  of  making  treaties  only  to  break 
them,  was  practised  upon  himself.  One  day  he  appeared 

^^^»under  a  flag  of  truce  at  the  American  camp.     General 

1837.  Jessup,  who  was  in  command,  immediately  made  him 
prisoner,  with  all  his  followers.  Osceola  was  sent  to 

HI  Charleston,  and  while  there  confined  in  Fort  Moultrie,  a 
fever  terminated  his  eventful  life. 

Colonel  Zachary  Taylor,   afterward  President  of  the 

1842.  United  States,  was  sent  to  succeed  Jessup.  Taylor,  by 
great  exertions,  brought  the  war  to  a  close,  but  not  till 
it  had  lasted  altogether  seven  years,  and  cost  the  nation 

1836.    many  lives,  and  thirty  millions  of  dollars. 

During  this  administration,  died  John  Marshall,  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  time,  at  the  age  of 
four-score.  He  had  served  in  the  army  of  the  Kevolution, 


CLAIMS    AGAINST    FRANCE    SETTLED.  671 

a 

and  won  the  esteem  of  Washington  ;  had  been  a  member  CHAP. 

of  the    House    of    Kepresentatives,    Secretary   of  State,  '. 

Secretary  of  War,  and  Minister  to  France.  President  John  1836. 
Adams  nominated  him  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  over  which  for  thirty-five  years  he  presided  "  with 
native  dignity  and  unpretending  grace."  His  solidity  of 
judgment,  his  reasoning  powers,  his  acute  and  penetrating 
mind,  were  remarkable,  and  none  the  less  striking  were  the 
purity  of  his  Christian  life  and  his  simplicity  of  manner. 

The  maxim  of  foreign  policy  acted  upon  by  the  Presi- 
dent was  ato  ask  nothing  but  what  was  righfc,  and  to 
submit  to  nothing  that  was  wrong."  American  merchants 
had  claims,  amounting  to  five  millions  of  dollars,  against 
the  French  government.  They  had  remained  unsettled 
for  twenty  years.  These  indemnities  were  for  "  unlawful 
seizures,  captures,  and  destruction  of  vessels  and  cargoes," 
during  the  wars  of  Napoleon.  The  government  of  Louis 
Philippe  acknowledged  their  justice,  and  by  treaty  en- 
gaged to  pay  them.  But  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  at 
different  times  during  three  years,  refused  to  appropriate 
the  money.  The  President  sent  a  message  to  Congress, 
recommending  reprisals  upon  French  property  if  the  treaty 
was  not  complied  with.  The  French  Chambers  took 
offence  at  the  tone  of  the  message,  and  although  Congress 
had  not  acted  upon  its  suggestions,  they  refused  to  pay 
the  money  unless  the  obnoxious  proposal  was  withdrawn. 
This  brought  another  message,  in  which  the  President  re- 
viewed the  difficulties  existing  between  the  governments. 
Said  he  :  "  Come  what  may,  the  explanation  which 
France  demands  can  never  be  accorded ;  and  no  arma- 
ment (alluding  to  a  French  fleet  then  on  our  coast), 
however  powerful  and  imposing,  will,  I  trust,  deter  us 
from  discharging  the  high  duties  which  we  owe  to  our 
constituents,  to  our  national  character,  and  to  the  world." 
He  suggested  to  Congress  to  prohibit  the  entrance  of 

:     f*  '*    * 


672  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

XLYm   -^renck   imP°rts  into  our  ports,  and  the  interdiction  of 

all  commercial  intercourse. 

1836.  At  this  time  Great  Britain  offered  her  mediation.  The 
offer  was  accepted  by  both  parties.  In  the  mean  time 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies  appropriated  the  money  to 
satisfy  the  claims  and  fulfil  the  treaty. 

I  Equally  successful  was  the  President  in  arranging 
other  difficulties  of  long  standing  ;  claims  for  similar 
seizures  and  spoliations  against  Spain,  Naples  and  Den- 
mark. Also  treaties  of  commerce  and  friendship  were  ne- 
gotiated with  Kussia,  and  the  Ottoman  Empire — the 
first  American  treaty  with  the  latter  power. 

Two  States,  Arkansas  and  Michigan,  were  added  to 
the  Union  ;  the  original  thirteen  had  now  doubled. 

After  a  spirited  contest,  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New 
York,  was  elected  President  by  the  people,  and  Eichard 
M.  Johnson,  of  Kentucky,  Yice-President,  not  by  the  elec- 
toral vote,  but  by  the  Senate. 

General  Jackson's  administration  will  ever  be  memo- 
rable for  its  measures ;  and  none  the  less  for  the  custom 
then  introduced,  and  unfortunately,  with  rare  exceptions, 
still  continued,  of  removing  persons  from  office  for  political 
•urposes,  and  filling  their  places  with  partisans. 

The  nation  was  greatly  agitated  by  the  conflicts  grow- 
g  out  of  the  diversity  of  opinion  on  the  policy  of  the 
President  and  his  adherents.  But  energy  and  determina- 
tion enabled  him  to  carry  his  points  in  defiance  of  opposi- 
tion and  established  usages. 


• 


- 

* 

Jt™ 

CHAPTER    XLIX. 

4  */W*?     ^fc ^t 

VAN  BUREN'S  ADMINISTRATION, 
f  ' 

. 

Apparent  Prosperity. — The  Specie  Circular. — The  Surplus  Funds. — Sus- 
pension of  Specie  Payments. — Speculation. — Special  Session  of  Con- 
gress.— The  Sub-Treasury. — State  Indebtedness. 

THE  last  year  of  Jackson's  administration  appeared  to  CHAP. 

be  one  of  very  great  national  prosperity.      The  public  L. 

debt  had  been  cancelled  two  years  before,  and  there  were    1837. 


nearly  forty  millions  of  dollars  of  surplus.     This  pros- 


perity was  fallacious  in  the  extreme. 

The  State  Banks,  called  in  derision  the  "  Pets,"  with 
whom  the  deposits  had  been  placed,  loaned  money  freely, 
with  the  expectation  that  they  should  continue  to  have 
the  use  of  the  public  funds  until  they  were  called  for  by 
the  Government.  That  time  seemed  to  be  distant,  as  its 
revenue  was  greater  than  its  current  expenses. 

Other  banks  sprang  into  existence,  until  the  number 
amounted,  throughout  the  land,  to  seven  hundred  and  fifty. 
These  institutions  had  very  little  gold  or  silver  in  their 
vaults,  as  a  means  to  redeem  the  notes  with  which  they 
flooded  the  country,  giving  a  fictitious  value  to  every  thing 
that  was  bought  or  sold.  They  rivalled  each  other  in  af- 
fording facilities  for  the  wildest  schemes  of  speculation. 

The  public  lands  became  an  object  of  this  speculation, 
until  the  sales  amounted  to  millions  in  a  month.  Two 
acts—  the  one  of  the  late  President  the  other  of  Con- 


43 


* 


674  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  gress — combined  to  hasten  th^  crisis.     President  Jackson, 

in  order  to  restrain  the  undue  sales  of  the  public  lands, 

1837.  had  issued,  through  the  Treasury  Department,  an  order 
known  as  the  Specie  Circular,  requiring  the  collectors 
at  the  offices  to  receive  only  gold  and  silver  in  payments 
1836.  f°r  land.  Six  months  later,  Congress  passed  a  law  to  dis- 
tribute among  the  States  the  government  funds,  on  de- 
posit in  the  banks.  They  were  thus  forced  to  call  in  their 
loans  to  meet  this  demand,  while  the  Specie  Circular 
arrested  the  circulation  of  their  notes,  and  brought  them 
back  to  their  counters,  to  be  exchanged  for  gold  and  silver. 
Within  six  months  after  this  distribution  was  ordered,  the 
business  of  the  whole  country  was  prostrated  :  all  im- 
provements ceased,  and  twenty  thousand  laboring  men 
were,  within  a  few  weeks,  thrown  out  of  employment  in 
New  York  City  alone,  where  the  failures  amounted  to  one 
hundred  millions  of  dollars,  while  those  of  New  Orleans 
was  4as  great  in  proportion,  being  twenty-seven  millions. 
A  few  weeks  later,  the  banks  of  New  York  City  suspended 
specie  payment ;  an  example  which  the  other  banks  of 
the  country  hastened  to  follow. 

Previous  to  the  suspension  of  payments,  a  large  and 
respectable  committee  of  merchants  of  New  York  visited 
Washington,  to  lay  before  the  new  President  the  state  of 
;he  country.     Similar  representations  went  from  almost 
ery  section  of  the  land.     The  President  denied  the  re- 
quest of  the  committee  to  rescind  the  Specie  Circular,  but 
proposed  to  call  a  Special  Session  of  Congress,  on  the  first 
Monday  of  the  following  September. 

The  extent  to  which  speculation  raged  seems  almost 
fabulous.  The  compromise  tariff  had  nearly  run  its  course, 
and  the  duty  arrived  at  its  minimum  ;  foreign  merchandise 
was  imported  in  unheard-of  quantities,  thus  ruining  do- 
mestic industry ;  internal  improvements,  because  of  the 
facility  in  obtaining  loans,  were  projected  to  an  extent 
almost  without  limit  ;  the  public  lands  were  bought  by 


SPECULATION THE    GOVERNMENT    EMBARRASSED.  675 

the  millions  of  acres,  and  cities  and  villages  were  multi-  CHAP. 

XT  TX 

plied  on  paper  by  hundreds  ;  and  stranger  still,  the  sites  

of    these  prospective   cities,  divided  into   lots,  were  fre-    1837. 
quently  made  the  basis  of  money  transactions. 

A  few  months  before,  the  General  Government  was 
free  from  debt,  and  had  a  surplus  of  forty  millions.  Now 
the  surplus  had  been  given  to  the  States  ;  the  importers 
had  neither  gold  nor  silver  to  pay  duties,  and  the  Govern- 
ment itself  was  deprived  of  the  means  to  defray  its  cur- 
rent expenses. 

When  Congress  assembled,  the  President  made  no  Sept. 
suggestion  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  commercial  em- 
barrassments of  the  country  might  be  relieved,  on  the 
ground  that  the  General  Government  was  unauthorized 
by  the  Constitution  to  afford  such  relief.  He  was  there- 
fore in  favor  of  the  people  taking  care  of  themselves.  The 
message  contained,  however,  two  recommendations  ;  one 
the  issue  of  Treasury  notes,  to  relieve  the  Government's 
own  embarrassments,  the  other  an  Independent  Treasury 
for  the  public  funds.  The  object  of  the  latter  was  to 
avoid  the  liability  of  loss  by  depositing  the  public  moneys 
in  banks.  These  treasuries  were  to  be  located  at  suitable 
places  ;  the  sub-treasurers  to  be  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, and  to  give  bonds  for  the  proper  fulfilment  of 
duties. 

The  measure  was  opposed,  lest  the  withdrawal  of  so 
much  gold  and  silver  from  circulation  would  injure  com- 
mercial operations.  The  bill  failed  in  the  House,  though 
it  passed  the  Senate.  Three  years  later  it  was  estab- 
lished ;  the  next  year  repealed — then  re-enacted,  five 
years  after,  and  is  still  the  law  of  the  land. 

The  Legislatures  of  many  of  the  States  became  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  speculation,  and  as  a  means  to  obtain 
loans,  issued  State  stocks  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred 
millions.  This  was  done  under  the  laudable  pretext  of 
developing  their  resources,  by  internal  improvements. 


676  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.  Eight  of  the   States  failed  to  pay  the  interest  on  these 

loans  or  stocks.     In  time  they  recovered  from  the  shock, 

1838.  and  but  one  of  them,  Mississippi,  and  one  territory,  Florida, 
repudiated  their  debt  and  defied  their  creditors.  These 
loans  were  principally  obtained  in  Europe,  where,  on  the 
subject  of  these  failures  to  pay,  great  indignation  was  ex- 
pressed. The  whole  nation  was  dishonored  ; — two  years 
later,  when  the  National  Government  wished  to  obtain  a 
loan,  her  agents  could  not  induce  a  capitalist  in  all 
Europe  to  risk  a  dollar  in  such  investment. 

As  the  administration  of  Yan  Buren  drew  to  a  close, 
the  financial  condition  of  the  country  did  not  much  im- 
prove. However,  his  party  nominated  him,  as  well  as  Vice- 
President  Johnson,  for  a  second  term.  The  opposing  can- 
didate was  William  Henry  Harrison,  of  Ohio,  whom  we 
have  seen  as  a  popular  general  of  the  north-west  during 

1812.  the  last  war,  as  well  as  filling  many  civil  offices  with 
honor  to  himself  and  profit  to  the  country.  On  the  same 
ticket  was  John  Tyler  of  Virginia,  as  the  candidate  for 

1840.  Vice-President.  Harrison  was  elected  by  a  very  large 
majority.  The  commercial  disasters  of  the  country  were 
generally  attributed  to  the  interference  of  the  Government 
with  the  currency  ;  this  belief  had  caused  a  great  revul- 
sion in  the  public  mind. 


CHAPTEE    L. 

•  -.  .  •* 

HARRISON   AND   TYLER'S   ADMINISTRATION. 

* 

The  Inauguration. — Death  of  Harrison. — Tyler  President. — Sub-Treasury 
Act  repealed. — Bankrupt  Law. — The  Bank  Charters ;  their  Vetoes. — 
Proposition  to  treat  with  Great  Britain. — Insurrection  in  Canada. — The 
Caroline. — Trial  of  McLeod. — Boundary  Disputes  in  Maine. — Lord 
Ashburton. — Treaty  of  Washington. — Questions  of  Visit  and  Impress- 
ment.— Exploring  Expedition. — Texas  Colonization;  struggles. — Inde- 
pendence.— Siege  of  Goliad  and  the  Alamo. — Davy  Crocket. — Massacre 
of  Prisoners. — Battle  of  San  Jacinto. — Houston  President. — Question 
of  Annexation  in  Congress. — Texas  Annexed. — Disturbances  in  Rhode 
Island. — Iowa  and  Florida  become  States. 

AN  immense  concourse  of  people,  many  of  them  from  CHAP. 
distant  parts  of  the  Union,  assembled  at  Washington  to        ' 
witness  the  inauguration  of  General  Harrison.     His  ad-    1841. 
dress  on  that  occasion  was  replete  with  wisdom  ;  liberal 
and  generous,  and  patriotic  in  its  tone  ;  a  transcript  oi 
the  sincerity  of  his  own  heart.     His  selection  of  officers 
compose  his  Cabinet  was  unanimously  confirmed  by  the 
Senate  ;  at  its  head  was  Daniel  Webster,  as  Secretary  of 
State. 

The  certainty  of  a  change  of  policy  in  the  measures 
of  the  General  Government  inspired  confidence  in  the 
commercial  world,  and  the  nation,  made  wiser  by  adver- 
sity, began  to  hope.  But  the  expectations  of  the  Presi- 
dent's friends  were  doomed  to  be  sadly  disappointed.  His 
first  official  act  was  to  issue  a  proclamation,  calling  a 
special  session  of  Congress,  to  meet  on  the  31st  of  the 

* 


678  HISTOKY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


f°ll°wmg  May,  to  take  into  consideration  the  condition  of 
_  _  the  country.  Before  that  day  arrived,  the  President  was 
1841.  no  more.  Suddenly  taken  ill,  all  human  remedies  failed 
pn  '  to  give  relief,  and  he  expired,  just  one  month  after  his 
inauguration,  in  his  sixty-ninth  year.  For  the  first  time, 
death  had  removed  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Union 
when  in  office.  The  loss  came  home  to  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  Throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land 
they  vied  with  each  other  in  doing  honor  to  his  memory. 
Since  the  death  of  Washington,  the  nation  had  not 
mourned  a  loss  with  such  imposing  ceremonies.  This  deep 
and  pervading  sentiment  of  sorrow  was  the  tribute  due  the 
memory  of  a  good  man  ;  one  who  had  served  his  country 
with  most  scrupulous  integrity  for  more  than  forty  years  ; 
whose  whole  life,  public  and  private,  was  without  reproach. 
Though  in  public  office  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  his 
salaries  had  passed  away  in  charities  and  hospitalities  ; 
to  his  house  the  humblest  of  the  land  as  well  as  the  most 
exalted,  had  been  welcomed  ;  the  poor  man's  friend,  he 
himself  died  poor.  At  its  very  first  session  after  his 
death,  Congress,  "  out  of  consideration  of  his  expenses  in 
removing  to  the  seat  of  government,  and  the  limited 
means  which  he  had  left  behind,"  granted  his  widow  one 
year's  presidential  salary  —  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 


JOHN   TYLER. 


The  Vice-President  became  the  President,  according 
to  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution.  He  retained  the 
Cabinet  of  his  predecessor,  giving  them  assurances  of  his 
respect.  Congress  convened  for  the  extra  session  at  the 
time  designated.  One  of  its  first  measures  was  to  repeal 
the  Sub-Treasury  act  of  the  last  administration.  To 
this  regulation  for  the  keeping  of  the  public  funds  much 
of  the  pressure  in  the  money  market  was  attributed. 

The  failures  in  the  mercantile  world  had  brought  ruin 

* 


THE    NATIONAL    BANK THE   VETOES.  679 

upon  thousands  of  upright  and  enterprising  men.     They  CHAP. 
had  become  hopelessly  bankrupt,  in  many  instances,  by        ' 
circumstances   beyond  their  control  ;  involved  in  debts,    1842. 
which  would  forever  crush  their  energies  without  bene- 
fitting  their  creditors,  themselves,  or  the  country.     To 
relieve  persons  thus  insolvent,  Congress  passed  a  general 
bankrupt  law.     The  effect  of  the  measure  was  beneficial, 
and  when  the  necessity  for  its  existence  had  passed  away, 
it  was  repealed. 

One  of  the  issues  involved  in  the  last  presidential 
election,  was  the  policy  of  establishing  a  United  States 
Bank  or  "  Financial  Agent,"  which  should  facilitate  mer- 
cantile exchanges  throughout  the  Union.  The  result  of 
the  election  had  shown  that  the  majority  of  the  people 
were  in  favor  of  such  an  institution.  In  compliance  with 
this  expression  of  the  popular  will,  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress passed  a  bill  chartering  such  a  National  Bank. 
Contrary  to  expectation,  the  President  refused  to  give  it  his 
signature.  Another  bill  was  passed,  modified  in  its  pro- 
visions to  accord  with  his  own  suggestions.  This  he  also 
refused  to  sign.  These  successive  vetoes  raised  a  terrible 
storm  of  indignation  against  their  author,  though  when 
nominated  he  was  known  to  be  opposed  to  the  United 
States  Bank.  The  great  party,  by  whose  votes  he  held 
his  high  position,  charged  him  with  double  dealing  ; 
betraying  the  trust  they  had  committed  to  his  hands. 
The  members  of  his  cabinet  immediately  resigned  their 
places,  and  gave  to  the  country  their  reasons  for  so  doing. 
Daniel  Webster  alone  remained,  lest  the  public  interests 
would  suffer  by  his  withdrawal  before  the  completion  of 
certain  negotiations  upon  which  he  was  then  engaged. 

Between  the  United  States  government  and  that  of 
Great  Britain  two  important  questions  of  controversy  re- 
mained unadjusted.  One  growing  out  of  certain  revolu- 


680  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  tionary  disturbances  along  the  Canada  borders  ;  and  the 

other  in  relation  to  the  north-eastern  boundary  between 

1842.  the  State  of  Maine  and  the  British  province  of  New 
Brunswick.  The  former  of  these  had  been  pending  dur- 
ing the  previous  administration,  the  latter  for  fifty  years. 

Soon  after  entering  upon  his  duties  as  Secretary  of 
State,  Mr.  Webster,  with  the  sanction  of  the  President, 
intimated  to  the  British  Minister  at  Washington,  that 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  was  desirous  to 
arrange  the  boundary  dispute  by  agreeing  on  a  line  by 
compromise,  or  convention.  The  proposition  was  received 
in  the  friendly  spirit  in  which  it  had  been  given,  and  the 
British  ministry  deputed  Lord  Ashburton,  as  special 
minister  to  the  United  States,  with  full  powers  to  settle 
1837.  all  points  of  controversy  between  the  two  governments. 

During  the  first  year  of  Van  Buren's  administration 
the  people  of  both  the  Canadas  endeavored  to  throw  off 
their  allegiance  to  England,  and  to  declare  themselves  in- 
dependent. This  movement  enlisted  the  sympathies  of 
great  numbers  in  the  neighboring  States.  In  northern 
New  York  associations  were  formed,  called  "  Hunters' 
Lodges,"  whose  object  was  to  aid  the  patriots.  These 
illegal  combinations  flourished  in  spite  of  the  efforts  made 
by  the  President  and  the  Governor  of  New  York  to  sup- 
press them. 

About  seven  hundred  of  these  "  sympathizers,"  with 
some  of  the  patriots,  took  possession  of  Navy  Island,  in 
Niagara  river,  near  the  Canada  shore,  to  which  province  it 
belonged.  Thither  the  steamboat  Caroline  was  employed 
in  transporting  men,  arms,  and  provisions  from  Schlosser, 
on  the  American  shore.  The  British  authorities  deter- 
mined to  destroy  this  boat.  Accordingly  a  detachment 
was  sent  on  a  dark  night  in  December  for  that  purpose  ; 
the  officer  in  command  not  finding  the  boat  at  Navy 
Island,  as  expected,  passed  over  to  Schlosser,  where  she 
was  moored  at  the  dock.  He  captured  the  boat,  and  in 


THE  AFFAIR  OF  THE  CAROLINE — M'LEOD.  681 

the  short  struggle  which  ensued,  an  American  was  killed.  CHAP. 
The  Caroline  was  taken  out  into  the  middle  of  the  stream, 
there  set  on  fire,  and  left  to  pass  over  the  falls  in  a  blaze.    1837. 
The  British  Minister  at  Washington,  Mr.  Fox,  imme- 
diately avowed  the  act,  and  justified  it  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  done  in  self-defence.     This  avowal  changed  the 
aspect  of  the  controversy — it  was  now  between  the  gov- 
ernments.    The  excitement  was  by  no  means  allayed,  nor 
the  activity  of  the  "  lodges "  diminished.     Three  years    1340. 
afterward  a  still  stronger  feeling  of  hostility  sprang  up 
between  the  two  countries.     A  certain  Alexander   Mc- 
Leod,  a  British  subject,  living  in  Canada,  it  was  rumored, 
had  boasted  of  being  at  the  taking  of  the  Caroline,  and 
also  that  he  himself  had  killed  the  American.     McLeod 
visited  the  State  of  New  York  at  the  time  just  mentioned, 
the  authorities  of  which  immediately  arrested  him  on  the    4 
charge  of  murder.     The  British  government  demanded  his 
release,  unconditionally,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  obey- 
ing the  orders  of  his  government,  which  alone  was  respon- 
sible.     The    State   refused  to  relinquish,  either  to   the 
National  Government  or  to  Great  Britain,  her  right  to 
bring  the  prisoner  to  trial,  for  the  crime  it  was  alleged  he 
had  committed  on  her  soil.     The  trial  came  on,  and  Mc- 
Leod was  acquitted,  he  having  proved  that  he  was  not 
present  at  the  affray  at  all.     In  order  to  prevent,  for  the  ^ 
future,  clashings  of  State  jurisdiction  with  that  of  the 
National  Government,  Congress  passed  a  law  requiring 
similar  cases  to  be  transferred  to  the  United  States  courts. 
While  these  events  were  in  progress  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  difficulties,  equally  ominous,  were  brewing  on 
the  north-eastern  boundary.     The  inhabitants  on  either 
side  undertook  to  say  where  the  line  should  be  ;  as  they 
could  not  agree,  the  more  belligerent  were  in  favor  of 
fighting,   and  consequently  some  trifling  collisions  took 
place.      The   Legislature   of    Maine    even   appropriated 
money  for  the  defence  of  her  territorial  rights — and  further 


682  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,   collisions  were  prevented  only  by  the  conciliatory  and  ju- 

dicious  policy  of  General    Scott,  who  was  sent  by  the 

1840.    President  to  maintain  the  peace. 

These  disputes  so  long  unsettled,  very  greatly  dis- 
turbed the  harmony  existing  between  the  two  nations. 
The  correspondence  between  their  governments  shows  that 
at  this  time  the  controversy  had  assumed  a  serious  and 
delicate  character,  and  that  it  required  the  exercise  of 
great  wisdom,  and  a  mutual  conciliatory  spirit  to  prevent 
actual  war. 

When  negotiations  commenced,  commissioners  from 
the  States  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts  were  invited  to 
Washington,  that  they  might  be  consulted  on  the  subject. 
The  treaty  was  soon  concluded.  The  United  States  ob- 
tained the  navigation  of  the  river  St.  John's  to  its  mouth, 
y  and  the  very  important  military  position — Kouse's  Point, 
at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Champlain.  In  exchange  for  these 
were  given  a  small  territory  of  swamps,  heath,  and  rocks, 
and  barren  mountains,  covered  with  snow  the  greater  part 
of  the  year.  A  territory  valuable  to  Great  Britain  only 
because  it  enabled  her  to  make  a  direct  road  from  the 
province  of  New  Brunswick  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  Both 
•  nations  were  benefited  by  the  arrangement,  and  the  vexa- 
tious question  of  more  than  half  a  century's  standing  was 
amicably  settled. 

Another  article  provided  for  the  mutual  rendition  of 
fugitives  from  justice  ;  but  only  those  who  had  committed 
acts  which  would  be  deemed  criminal  in  the  country 
where  they  had  taken  refuge.  This  important  measure 
has  given  general  satisfaction  to  both  the  contracting 
parties,  and  has  served  since  as  a  model  for  similar  treaties 
between  some  of  the  European  powers.  The  two  govern- 
ments also  agreed  to  maintain  each  a  certain  number  of 
armed  vessels  on  the  coast  of  Africa  to  aid  in  suppressing 
the  slave-trade. 

After  the  treaty  was  concluded  two  important  sub- 
• 


THE    QUESTIONS    OF    SEARCH    AND   IMPRESSMENT.  683 

jects  unexpectedly  came  up  for  discussion.     One  was  the  CHAP. 
right  assumed  by  British  cruisers  to  visit,  and  if  necessary        ' 
search,  merchant  vessels  belonging  to  other  nations.     In  a    1842. 
letter  to  the  American  minister  at  London,  and  designed 
for  the  English  secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Webste*r  de- 
nied the  "  right,"  and  sustained  his  opinions  against  its 
exercise  by  arguments  that  have  not  yet  been  invalidated. 

The  other  subject  was  the  impressment  of  seamen  by 
British  cruisers  from  American  merchant  vessels.  In  a 
letter  to  Lord  Ashburton  the  Secretary  of  State  assumed 
that  it  did  not  comport  with  the  self-respect  of  the  United  * 
States  to  enter  into  stipulations  in  relation  to  the  right 
of  impressment  ;  as  if  for  a  moment  the  existence  of  such 
a  right  could  be  admitted.  On  the  contrary-that  the  ex- 
ercise of  impressment  should  be  deemed  an  aggression  and 
repelled  as  such.  In  an  able  and  conciliatory  discussion  ^ 
he  pointed  out  the  inconsistency  of  such  a  right  with  the 
laws  of  nations.  Yet  in  the  happiest  language  expressed 
the  desire  that  for  the  welfare  of  both  countries,  all  occa- 
sions of  irritation  should  be  removed.  He  announced  as 
the  basis  of  the  policy  of  the  United  States  :  "  Every 
merchant-vessel  on  the  high  seas  is  rightfully  considered 
as  a  part  of  the  territory  of  the  country  to  which  it  be- 
longs ;  "  that  "  in  every  regularly  documented  American 
merchant-vessel  the  crew  who  navigate  it  will  find  their 
protection  in  the  flag  which  is  over  them,"  and  that  "  the 
American  Government,  then,  is  prepared  to  say  that  the 
practice  of  impressing  seamen  from  American  vessels  can- 
not hereafter  be  allowed  to  take  place."  l  In  the  same  just 
and  conciliatory  spirit  was  the  reply  of  Lord  Ashburton. 

An  apology  was  impliedly  given  for  the  invasion  of 
the  territory  of  the  United  States  in  the  "  affair  of  the 
Caroline."  The  negotiators  conferred  informally  upon  the 
subject  of  the  northern  boundary  of  Oregon,  but  for  the 

1  The  Works  of  Daniel  Webster,  vol.  vi.  p.  325. 


M& 

684  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  present  agreed  to  postpone  its  settlement.     The  treaty  of 

, ,  Washington  marks  an  important  era  in  our  history  : — the 

1842.  time  when  the  United  States  took  that  position  among 
the  nations,  to  which  they  were  entitled  by  their  power 
and  influence.  Four  years  after,  Webster  said  on  the 
floor  of  the  Senate  : — "  I  am  willing  to  appeal  to  the 
public  men  of  the  age,  whether,  in  1842,  and  in  the  city 
of  Washington,  something  was  not  done  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  crime,  for  the  true  exposition  of  public  law,  for  the 
freedom  and  security  of  commerce  on  the  ocean,  and  for 
the  peace  of  the  world  ?  " 

The  government  had  not  been  forgetful  of  the  ad- 
vancement of  science.     It  sent  out  an  exploring  expedi- 
1838.    tion,  under  Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes  of    the  United 
States  navy,  accompanied  by  a  corps  of  scientific  men,  to 
*+    make   discoveries  in   the  Antarctic  and  Pacific   oceans. 
After  four  years  it  returned  bringing  the  results  of  inves- 
1842.    tigations  in  Natural  History,  not  valuable   to   our  own 
country  alone,  but  to  the  world.     It  sailed  ninety  thousand 
miles,  seventeen  hundred  of  which  were  along  the  coast 
of  a  great  Antarctic  Continent  never  seen  before  by  civil- 
ized man. 

•  The  four  years  of  this  administration  was  a  period 
fruitful  in  measures,  destined,  in  their  remote  consequences, 
to  have  a  varied  and  almost  unlimited  influence  upon  the 
nation.  A  more  important  question  never  came  before 
the  Houses  of  Congress,  than  when  the  young  Republic 
of  Texas  presented  herself  at  their  doors,  and  asked  to  be 
annexed  to  the  Union.  She  came  offering  a  fertile  ter- 
ritory almost  sufficient  in  extent  to  make  five  such  States 
as  Pennsylvania  or  New  York.  The  "  annexation,"  led  to 
the  Mexican  war,  and  that  in  turn  to  the  acquisition  of 
California. 

The  region  known  as  Texas  had  been  claimed,  but  on 
doubtful  grounds,  as  a  part  of  the  already  purchased  ter- 


•;- 

'  *  •'  '•*'  .4 

MOSES   AUSTIN IMMIGRATION   TO    TEXAS.  685 

ritory  of  Louisiana.     This  claim  was,  however,  waived,  and  CHAP. 

when  Florida  was  obtained  Texas  was  tacitly  admitted  to 

belong   to   Spain,  and  when  Mexico   revolted  from   the    1842. 
mother  country,  she  became  one  of  the  confederated  States 
which  formed  the  Mexican  republic. 

The  American  who  originated  the  plan  of  colonizing 
Texas,  was  Moses  Austin,  a  native  of  Durham,  Connec- 
ticut.    He  was  engaged  in  working  the  lead  mines  in 
upper  Louisiana,  when,  in  his   explorations,  he   became 
acquainted  with  the  fertile  soil  and  delightful  climate  of  ?, 
Texas.     The  Spanish  Government  encouraged  immigra-*! 
tion  to  that  part  of  the   Mexican  territory,  and  it  gave 
Austin  large  grants  of  land,  on  condition  that  he  would    1813. 
introduce  as  colonists  three   hundred   Catholic  families 
from  Louisiana.     Within  a  month  after  these  arrange- 
ments were  completed,  Austin  himself  died,  but  appointed  f^ 
his  son  Stephen  F.  Austin  to  superintend  the  planting  of 
the  colony  according  to  the  agreement  with  the  Spanish 
government.      To  his  energy  and  perseverance  may  be 
attributed  the  success  of  the  enterprise. 

Little  was  known  at  Mexico  of  what  was  in  progress 
in  that  remote  region.  The  Americans,  attracted  by  the 
liberal  grants  of  land  and  the  fine  climate,  were  pouring 
in.  In  a  few  years  they  numbered  twenty  thousand,  very  1830. 
few  of  whom  were  Catholics,  nor  did  they  all  come  from 
Louisiana,  but  from  the  other  Southern  and  Western 
States. 

-,-,-^v 

Meantime  in  Mexico  other  great  changes  were  in  prog- 
ress. First  came  the  revolution  by  which  she  declared  1821. 
herself  no  longer  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Spain.  This 
was  succeeded  by  a  confederation  of  States.  In  that  un- 
happy country  one  revolution  succeeded  another  in  rapid 
succession,  till  finally,  Santa  Anna,  overthrowing  the  ex- 
isting republic,  made  himself  dictator  and  tyrant  of  the 
people.  During  this  time  the  Texans  did  not  revolt  nor 

*- 


686  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

t^'^^^^^H 

JJA 

CHAP,  did  they  acquiesce.     They  formed   a   constitution,  and 
sent  Austin  to  Mexico  to  ask  admission  into  the  con- 

1835.  federacy  of  the  republic  as  a  State.     This  request  was  de- 
nied, and  their  messenger  thrown  into  prison.     Still  Texas 
retained  her  State  officers,  and  asked  that  her  rights  might 
"be  respected  ;  when  an  armed  Mexican  vessel  appeared 
off  the  coast,  and  proclaimed  that  her  ports  were  block- 
aded j  near  the  same  time  a  Mexican  army  appeared  on 
her  western  borders,  with  the  intention  of  arresting  her 

^  State  officers,  and  disarming  the   inhabitants.      It  was 

l;  much  easier  to  demand  the  Texan  rifles  than  to  get  them. 

Sept.    The  attempt  was  made  at  a  place  named  Gonzales,  where 

28-     the  Mexicans  met  with  a  severe  repulse.     The  Texans, 

though  few  in  number,  flew  to  arms  throughout  the  entire 

country,  and  in  a  few  months  drove  the  invaders  from 

J*  their  soil,  and  captured  and  garrisoned  the  strong  forts  of 

the  Goliad  and  the  mission  house  of  Alamo.     Thus  they 

manfully  resisted  the  designs  of  Santa  Anna  to  make 

them  submit  to  his  usurped  authority,  and  the  struggle 

commenced  for  their  rights,  their  liberties  and  their  lives. 

There  were  no  bonds  of  sympathy  between  the  Texans 

and  Mexicans  :  neither  in  religion  nor  in  customs,  nor  in 

form  of  government.     The  Texan  despised  the  Mexican, 

and  the  Mexican  hated  and  feared  the  Texan. 

1836.  Six  months  after  these  reverses  Santa  Anna  invaded 
Texas  with  a  numerous  army.     The  character  of  the  war 
he  intended  to  wage  may  be  inferred  from  his  cruel  orders 
to  shoot  every  prisoner  taken.      The  Alamo  was  invested 
by  Santa  Anna  himself.     The  garrison  numbered  only 
one  hundred  and  eighty  men,  while  their  enemies  were  as 
sixteen  to  their  one.     When  summoned  to  surrender,  they, 
knowing  the  treacherous  character  of  the  Mexican  Chief, 
refused.     The  latter  immediately  raised  the  blood-red  flag, 
to  indicate  that  he  would  give  no  quarter.     After  repulsing 

M       the"  besiegers  several  times,  the  Texans,  worn  out  with 
6.      watchings  and  labors,  were  overcome;  and  when  calling  for 


v 


*  * 


DAVY    CROCKET PRISONERS    MURDERED.  687 


quarter    the    survivors — only    seven — were    mercilessly  CHAP. 
butchered. 

Here,  surrounded  by  the  bodies  of  Mexicans  who  had    1836. 
fallen  by  his  hand,  perished  the  eccentric  Davy  Crocket. 
Born  on  the  frontiers  of  Tennessee,  his  only  education  was 
that  received  during  two  months  in  a  common  school. 
Though  singular  in  his  mental  characteristics,  his  strong 
common  sense  and  undaunted  spirit,  won  him  the  respect 
of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  they  sent  him  several  times  to 
represent  them  in  Congress.     When  he  heard  of  the  strug^^ 
gle  in  which  the  people  of  Texas  were  engaged,  he  hastenedH 
to  their  aid,  and  with  untiring  energy  devoted  himself  to 
their  cause. 

At  Goliad  the  little  garrison  defended  themselves  with 
unexampled  bravery ;  not  until  their  resources  failed, 
their  ammunition  exhausted,  and  famine  was  staring  them  ^ 
in  the  face,  did  they  accept  the  terms  offered  by  the  Mexi- 
can in  command,  and  surrendered.  Their  lives  were  to 
be  spared,  and  they  aided  to  leave  the  country.  Other 
small  parties  of  Texans  in  different  places  had  been  sur- 
prised and  taken  prisoners.  The  following  night  a  courier 
arrived  from  Santa  Anna,  bringing  orders  to  put  the 
prisoners  to  death  the  next  morning. 

They  were  marched  in  little  companies  outside  the 
town,  and  there  shot  ;  those  attempting  to  escape  were 
cut  down  by  the  cavalry.  The  wounded  prisoners  were 
then  murdered  in  the  same  cruel  manner ;  among  the 
wounded  who  thus  suffered,  was  Colonel  Fanning,  their 
commander.  Thus  perished  three  hundred  and  thirty 
men,  the  last  words  of  some  of  whom  were  cheers  for  the 
liberty  of  Texas. 

A  Texan  physician,  Dr.  Grant,  was  among  the 
prisoners,  but  his  life  was  spared  on  condition  that  he 
would  attend  the  wounded  Mexican  soldiers.  He  was 
also  promised  that  he  should  have  a  passport  to  leav^the 
country  as  soon  as  they  needed  his  services  no  mora  He 

I       •      •&    .     *    y  • 

*  » 


688  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  faithfully  performed  his  part,  but  when  the  soldiers  were 

cured,  he  was  tied  upon  a  wild  horse,  and  told  to  take  "  his 

1836.  passport  and  start  for  home."  The  cords  were  cut,  and 
the  frightened  animal  rushed  to  the  ^  woods,  where,  some 
time  after,  the  mangled  body  of  the  poor  man  was  found. 
Santa  Anna,  with  an  army  of  seven  thousand  men, 
moved  on  toward  the  San  Jacinto  river.  General  Samuel 
Houston  had  only  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men,  their 
only  weapons  rifles,  pistols  and  bowie-knives  ;  in  their 
^^element  when  fighting,  they  were  impatient  to  attack  the 
enemy.  The  advance  division,  consisting  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred men,  under  the  command  of  Santa  Anna  himself, 
was  the  flower  of  the  Mexican  army.  The  Mexicans 
were  well  posted,  and  their  front,  before  which  was  an 
open  grassy  space,  was  carefully  fortified.  Houston  had 
£  great  difficulty  in  restraining  his  men.  At  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  when  Santa  Anna  and  his  officers  were  en- 
joying a  sleep,  and  their  men  engaged  in  playing  cards, 
Houston  passed  information  along  the  line  that  the  only 
bridge  by  which  the  enemy  could  escape  was  cut  down, 
with  the  order  to  move  rapidly  to  the  attack.  The  sur- 
prise was  complete.  In  twenty  minutes  their  position 
was  forced,  and  the  panic  stricken  Mexicans  leaving  every 
thing,  fled  in  confusion.  More  than  six  hundred  were 
slain,  and  altogether  more  than  eight  hundred  taken 
prisoners.  The  following  day  a  Mexican  was  found  skulk- 
ing in  the  grass.  He  asked  to  be  led  to  head-quarters. 
When  brought  to  the  Oak  under  which  were  the  Texan 
head-quarters,  he  made  himself  known  as  Santa  Anna. 
He  complimented  Houston  on  the  renown  he  had  acquired 
in  "  conquering  the  Napoleon  of  the  West."  Such  was 
April  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto;  the  number  engaged  were  com- 
21  •  paratively  few,  yet  it  virtually  ended  the  contest.  Santa 
Anna,  at  the  request  of  Houston,  ordered  the  Mexican 
army  to  retire  from  the  Territory  of  Texas.  He  also  ac- 


OF    ANNEXATI 


; 


TEXAS   INDEPENDENT — QUESTION    OF    ANNEXATION.  689 

knowledged  the  independence  of  Texas,  but  the  Mexican  CHAP. 
Congress  refused  to  ratify  his  act.  ' 

A  month  previous  to  this  battle,  a  convention  of  dele-  1836. 
gates  met  at  a  place  named  Washington,  and  declared 
themselves  independent  of  Mexico.  The  convention  then 
proceeded  to  form  a  Constitution,  which  in  due  time  was 
adopted  by  the  people.  Six  months  later  Houston  was 
inaugurated  President  of  the  Kepublic  of  Texas  ;  and  its 
first  Congress  assembled.1  ct' 

When  its  people  threw  off  their  allegiance  to  Mexico, 
they  naturally  turned  to   more   congenial   associations 
they  desired  to  annex  themselves  to  the  United  States. 

One  of  the  last  official  acts  of  General  Jackson  had 
been  to  sign  a  bill  recognizing  their  independence,  and 
now  the  question  of  their  annexation  became  the  absorbing 
topic  of  political  discussion  in  the  United  States,  in  4 
every  section  of  which  many  opposed  the  measure  only 
on  the  ground  that  it  would  incur  a  war  with  Mexico,, 
whose  government  still  persisted  in  fruitless  efforts  to  re- 
duce the  Texans  to  obedience.  The  interminable  ques- 
tion of  slavery,  as  usual,  was  involved  in  the  controversy. 
The  South  was  almost  unanimously  in  favor  of  annexa-  1844. 
tion.  The  genial  climate,  the  fertile  soil,  and  the  varied 
productions  of  Texas,  were  so  many  pledges  that  slave 
labor  would  there  be  profitable.  A  strong  party  in  the 
North  was  opposed  to  the  measure,  lest  it  should  perpetu- 
ate that  institution,  while  one  in  the  South  was  devising 
plans  to  preserve  the  balance  of  power  existing  between 
the  States  in  the  Senate. 

The  subject  of  annexation,  with  its  varied  conse- 
quences, was  warmly  discussed  in  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress, in  the  newspapers,  and  in  the  assemblies  of  the 
people. 

Calhoun  gave  his  views  by  saying  :    "  There  were 

^*  -> 

1  Yoakum's  Hist,  of  Texas. 
44 


4- 


690 


CHAP. 
L. 


1844. 


""w^P^*1 


HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

powerful  reasons  why  Texas  should  be  a  part  of  this 
Union.  The  Southern  States,  owning  a  slave  population, 
were  deeply  interested  in  preventing  that  country  from 
having  power  to  annoy  them."  Said  Webster :  "  That 
while  I  hold  to  all  the  original  arrangements  and  compro- 
mises under  which  the  Constitution  under  which  we  now 
live  was  adopted,  I  never  could,  and  never  can,  persuade 
myself  to  be  in  favor  of  the  admission  of  other  States  into 
the  Union,  as  slave  States,  with  the  inequalities  which 
were  allowed  and  accorded  by  the  Constitution  to  the 
slaveholdin  States  then  in  existence." 


Under  the  auspices  of  Calhoun,  who  was  now  Secre- 
tary of  State,  a  treaty  was  secretly  made  with  Texas,  by 
which  she  was  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union.  But  the 
Senate  immediately  rejected  it  by  a  vote  more  than  two 
to  one,  on  the  ground  that  to  carry  out  its  provisions 
would  involve  the  country  in  a  war  with  Mexico.  This 
rejection  was  the  signal  for  raising  a  great  clamor  through- 
out the  land.  Annexation  was  made  a  prominent  issue 
in  the  pending  presidential  election — the  Democratic  party 
in  favor  of  the  measure,  and  the  Whigs  opposed.  To  in- 
fluence the  credulous,  it  was  boldly  asserted  that  England 
was  negotiating  with  Texas  to  buy  her  slaves,  free  them, 
and,  having  quieted  Mexico,  to  take  the  republic  under 
her  special  protection.  This  story  General  Houston  said 
was  a  pure  fabrication  ;  yet  it  served  a  purpose.  In  cer- 
tain portions  of  the  South  conventions  were  held,  in  which 
the  sentiment  "  Texas,  or  Disunion,"  was  openly  advocated. 
The  threats  of  secession  and  uniting  with  Texas,  unless 
she  was  admitted  to  the  Union,  had  but  little  effect, 
however,  upon  the  great  mass  of  the  people. 

The  following  year  it  was  proposed  to  receive  Texas 
by  a  joint  resolution  of  Congress.  The  House  of  Kepre- 
sentatives  passed  a  bill  to  that  effect,  but  the  Senate 
added  an  amendment,  appointing  commissioners  to  nego- 

« 

.•4fc»' 


*•" 


* 


*** 


* 


** 


- 


THE   JOINT    RESOLUTIONS — TEXAS    ANNEXED.  691 


tiate  with  Mexico  on  the  subject.     Thus  manifesting  a  CHAP. 
desire  to  respect  the  rights  of  Mexico  as  a  nation  with        ' 
whom  we  were  at  peace,  and  at  least  make  an  effort  to    1844. 
obtain  the  annexation  with  her  consent,  and   also  the 
1  settlement  of  boundaries^ 

By  a  clause  in  the  resolutions  the  President  was 
authorized  to  adopt  either  plan.  The 'joint  resolutions 
were  passed  on  Saturday,  the  2d  of  March  ;  Tyler  would 
leave  office  two  days  later.  The  President  elect,  James 
K.  Polk,  had  intimated  that  if  the  question  came  before 
him  he  should  adopt  the  Senate's  plan,  by  which  it  was 
hoped  an  amicable  arrangement  could  be  made  with 
Mexico.1  The  retiring  President,  and  his  Secretary  of 
State,  chose  to  adopt  the  mode  of  annexation  proposed  in 
the  House  resolutions.  A  messenger  was  sent  on  Sunday 
night  the  3d,  to  carry  the  proposition  with  all  speed  to 
the  Legislature  of  Texas. 

The  opposition  to  annexing  slaveholding  territory  to  the 
Union  was  so  great  that  Texas  came  in  by  compromise. 
Provision  was  made  that  four  additional  States  might  be 
formed  out  of  the  Territory  when  it  should  become  suffi- 
ciently populous.  Those  States  lying  north  of  the  parallel 
of  thirty-six  degrees  thirty  minutes,  north  latitude — the 
Missouri  Compromise  line — were  to  be  free  States  ;  those 
south  of  the  line,  to  "be  admitted  into  the  Union  with  or 
without  slavery  as  the  people  of  each  State  asking  admission 
may  desire/'  • '  To  the  original  State,  the  right  was  accorded 
to  prevent  any  State  being  formed  out  of  her  territory,  by 
refusing  her  consent  to  the  measure.  Texas  acceded  to  1845. 
the  proposition,  and  thus  became  one  of  the  United  States.  *~^ 
Her  population  now  amounted  to  two  hundred  thousand. 

For  nearly  two  hundred  years  the  people  of  Khode 
Island  had  lived  under  the  charter  granted  by  Charles  II. 
According  to  that  instrument  only  those  owning  a  certain 

1  Benton's  Thirty  Years'  View,  Chap,  cxlviii.,  Vol.  ii.  *\j*T 

I 
m  **» 

•  .*ML-Vl 


692  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  amount  of  property  could  vote.     The  desire  to  change 

this  provision  gave  rise  to  two  parties,  the  "  Suffrage/' 

1845.  and  "  The  Law  and  Order  ; "  each  determined  to  secure 
to  their  own  party  the  administration  of  affairs,  and  each?* 
elected  State  officers.  Thomas  W.  Dorr,  elected  gov- 
ernor by  the  Suffrage  party,  took  possession  of  the  State 
arsenal ;  the  militia  were  called  out  by  the  other  party, 
1843.  and  he  was  compelled  to  flee.  In  a  second  attempt  his 
i^  party  was  overpowered  by  United  States  troops,  and  he 
himself  arrested,  brought  to  trial,  convicted  of  treason, 
and  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life  ;  but  sometime 
afterward  he  was  pardoned.  A  free  constitution  was  in 
the  mean  time  adopted  by  the  people,  under  which  they 
are  now  living. 

Almost  the  last  official  act  of  President  Tyler  was  to 
,  sign  the  bill  for  the  admission  of  Iowa  and  Florida  into 
the  Union.  "  Two  States,  which  seem  to  have  but  few 
things  in  common  to  put  them  together — one  the  oldest, 
the  other  the  newest  territory — one  in  the  extreme  north- 
west of  the  Union,  the  other  in  the  extreme  south-east — 
one  the  land  of  evergreens  and  perpetual  flowers,  the  other 
the  climate  of  long  and  rigorous  winter — one  maintaining, 
the  other  repulsing  slavery/' 

.  * 

,». 


R-  -..    f 

.  -      '  % 

'    V*.*       ""*.  "V-'V  f 

fj 

«* 


0 

& 


CHAPTEE    LI. 


POLE'S   ADMINISTRATION. 



The   Presidential  Canvass. — Difficulties  with  Mexico. — General  Taylc 

Corpus  Christi. — Oregon  Territory  ;  respective  Claims  to. — Settlement 
of  Boundary. — Taylor  marches  to  the  Rio  Grande. — Thornton's  Party 
surprised. — Attack  on  Fort  Brown. — Battle  of  Palo  Alto  ;  of  Resaca 
de  la  Palma. — Matamoras  occupied. — Measures  of  Congress. — The 
Volunteers. — Plan  of  Operations. — Mexico  declares  War. — General 
Wool. — General  Worth. — The  Capture  of  Monterey. 


9 

••r  JL»^ 

W- 


ON  the  4th  of  March,  James  Knox  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  CHAP. 
was  inaugurated  President,  and  George  Mifflin  Dallas,  of  _  , 
Pennsylvania,  Vice-President  ;  James  Buchanan  was  ap-  1845. 
pointed  Secretary  of  State. 

The  canvass  had  been  one  of  unusual  interest  and 
spirit.  The  candidates  of  the  Whig  party  were  Henry 
Clay  and  Theodore  Frelinghuysen.  The  questions  in- 
volved were  the  admission  of  Texas,  and  the  settlement 
of  the  boundary  line  on  the  north-west,  between  the 


British   possessions   and   Oregon.      The   latter—  for  the 
Whigs  were  also  in  favor  of  its  settlement  —  thrown^in  by  , 
the  successful  party. 

The  result  of  the  election  was  assumed  to  be  the  ex- 
pression of  the  will  of  the  people  in  relation  to  the  ad- 
mission of  Texas,  which  measure,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
expiring  administration  had  already  consummated.  We 
have  now  to  record  the  events,  the  consequences  in  part 
of  that  measure. 

Though  France  and  England,  as  well  as 


!**•'* 


694  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    ST. 

CHAP.  States,  acknowledged  the  independence  of  Texas,  Mexico 

still  claimed  the  territory,  and  threatened  to  maintain 

1845.  her  claim  by  force  of  arms.  In  accordance  with  this 
sentiment,  two  days  after  the  inauguration  of  the  new 
President,  General  Almonte,  the  Mexican  minister  at 
Washington,  formally  protested  against  the  "joint  reso- 
lutions" of  Congress,  then  demanded  his  passports  and 
left  the  country. 

There  were  other  points  of  dispute  between  the  two 
governments.  American  merchants  residing  in  Mexico, 
complained  that  their  property  had  been  appropriated  by 
that  government ;  that  their  ships,  trading  along  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf,  had  been  plundered ,  and  they  could 
obtain  no  redress.  The  United  States  government  again 
and  again  remonstrated  against  these  outrages.  The 
Mexican  government,  poverty-stricken  and  distracted  by 
broils,  was  almost  in  a  state  of  anarchy  ;  each  party  as  it 
came  into  power  repudiated  the  engagements  made  by  its 
predecessor. 

1831.  A  treaty  had  been  signed  by  which  redress  for  these 
grievances  was  promised ;  the  promise  was  not  fulfilled, 
and  the  aggressions  continued.  Nine  years  later  the 
Mexican  government  again  acknowledged  the  justness  of 
these  demands,  which  now  amounted  to  six  millions  of 
dollars,  and  pledged  itself  to  pay  them  in  twenty  instal- 
ments, of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  each.  Three  of 
these  had  been  paid,  when  the  annexation  of  Texas  took 
place,  and,  in  consequence  of  that  event,  Mexico  refused 
further  compliance  with  the  treaty. 

Even  if  Mexico  gave  her  consent  for  the  annexation 
of  Texas,  another  question  arose  :  What  was  the  western 
boundary  of  that  territory ;  the  Nueces  or  the  Kio 
Grande  ?  Both  parties  claimed  the  region  lying  between 
these  two  rivers.  The  Legislature  of  Texas,  alarmed  at 
the  warlike  attitude  assumed  by  Mexico,  requested  the 
United  States  government  to  protect  their  territory.  Ac- 

•  -v   '  _  •- 


TAYLOR    AT    CORPUS    CHRISTI — THE    OREGON    QUESTION.  695 

cordingly  the  President  sent  General  Zachary  Taylor,  with  CHAP. 
fifteen  hundred  men,  called  the  "  Army  of  Occupation/' 


"  to  take  position  in  the  country  between  the  Nueces  and    1845. 
the  Kio  Grande,  and  to  repel  any  invasion  of  the  Texan 
territory."     General  Taylor  formed  his  camp  at  Corpus 
Christi;  a  small  village  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nueces.    There    Sept, 
he  remained  till  the  following  spring.     Also  a  portion  of 
the  Home  squadron,  under  Commodore  Conner,  was  sent 
into  the  Gulf  to  co-operate  with  the  army.     Both  "  were 
ordered  to  commit  no  act  of  hostility  against  Mexico  un- 
less she  declared  war.  or  was  herself  the  aggressor  by 
striking  the  first  blow."  l 

Though  Mexico,  in  her  weakness  and  distraction,  had 
temporized  and  recently  rejected  an  American  minister, 
yet  it  was  understood  that  she  was  now  willing  to  receive 
one,  and  accordingly  he  had  been  sent.  It  was  plain  that 
upon  the  pending  negotiations  war  or  peace  between  the 
two  republics  depended.  Meanwhile  it  was  known  that 
Mexico  was  marshalling  her  forces  for  a  conflict. 

. 

The  unsettled  question  in  relation  to  the  boundary  of 
Oregon  now  engaged  the  attention  of  the  President  and 
his  Secretary  of  State.  Great  Britain  was  from  the  first 
desirous  to  arrange  the  difficulty,  though,  as  has  been 
stated,  the  subject  was  passed  over  in  the  negotiations  of 
the  Washington  treaty. 

A  few  months  after  the  ratification  of  that  treaty,  Mr. 
Henry  S.  Fox,  the  British  minister  at  Washington,  ad-  y™' 
dressed  a  note  to  Daniel  Webster,  Secretary  of  State 
under  Mr.  Tyler,  in  which  note  he  proposed  to  take  up 
the  subject  of  the  Oregon  boundary.  The  proposal  was 
accepted,  but  for  some  reason  negotiations  were  not  com- 
menced. Two  years  later,  Sir  Eichard  Packenham,  then 
British  minister  at  Washington,  renewed  the  proposition 


1  President's  Message,  Dec.  1845. 


696  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


to  ^r'  ^Ps^ur?  Secretary  of  State.  It  was  accepted,  but 
-  a  few  days  after  Upshur  lost  his  life  by  the  lamentable 
1844.  explosion  on  board  the  Princeton.  Six  months  later 
e  *  Packenham  again  brought  the  matter  to  the  notice  of 

Mr.  Calhoun,  then  Secretary  of  State.     The  proposition 

was   promptly  accepted,  and   the   next   day  named  for 

taking  up  the  subject. 

The  claims  of  the  respective  parties  may  be  briefly 
noticed.  The  region  known  as  Oregon  lay  between  the  par- 
allels of  forty-two  and  fifty-four  degrees  and  forty  minutes 
north  latitude,  the  Kocky  Mountains  on  the  east,  and  the 

1819.  Pacific  Ocean  on  the  west.  By  the  Florida  Treaty,  Spain 
had  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  her  territory  north  of 
the  parallel  first  mentioned  ;  commencing  at  the  sources  of 
the  Arkansas  and  thence  to  the  Pacific,  and  Mexico,  hav- 
ing thrown  off  the  yoke  of  Spain,  since  confirmed  by  treaty 

1828.  the  validity  of  the  same  boundary.  The  parallel  of  fifty- 
four  degrees  forty  minutes  was  agreed  upon  by  the  United 
States,  Grreat  Britain,  and  Kussia,  as  the  southern  bound- 
ar7  of  the  possessions  of  the  latter  power. 

The  American  claim  was  based  upon  the  cession  of 
Spain,  who  was  really  the  first  discoverer  ;  the  discovery  of 

1792.  Captain  Gray,  already  mentioned;  the  explorations  of  Lewis 
and  Clarke,  sent  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  the  settlement  established  at  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia Eiver,  by  John  Jacob  Astor  of  New  York.  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  during  Jefferson's  administration,  crossed  the 
Bocky  Mountains,  came  upon  the  southern  main  branch 
of  the  Columbia,  and  explored  that  river  to  its  mouth. 
The  British  claim  was  also  based  on  discovery,  and 

1806.  actual  settlement  founded  by  the  North-  West  Company, 
on  Eraser's  Kiver,  and  also  another  on  the  head-waters  of 
the  north  branch  of  the  Columbia. 

L844.  Calhoun  came  directly  to  the  point,  and  proposed  as 
the  boundary  the  continuation  of  the  forty-ninth  degree 

f* 

: 


THE   OREGON    BOUNDARY    SETTLED.  697 

of  north  latitude  to  the  Pacific.     This  line  had  already  CHAP. 

heen  agreed  upon  between  the  United  States  and  Great 

Britain  by  the  treaty  made  at  London,  as  the  boundary   1844. 
of  their  respective  territories  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods    isis. 
to  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.      Packenham, 
unwilling  to  accept  that  line,  proposed  to  follow  the  forty- 
ninth  degree  from  the  mountains — some  three  hundred 
miles — until  it  should  strike  the  north  branch  of  the  Co- 
lumbia river,  and  thence  down  that  stream  to  the  ocean. 
The  American  Secretary  declined  this,  and  as  the  British 
minister  had  no  -further  instructions,  the  consideration  of  * 
the  subject  was  postponed. 

Meantime  the  Presidential  canvass  was  in  progress, 
and  "  all  of  Oregon  or  none  "  became  one  of  the  watch- 
words of  the  Democratic  party.  So  long  as  these  senti- 
ments were  proclaimed  by  partisan  leaders  and  newspapers, 
they  were  harmless  ;  but  when  the  new  President,  in  his 
inaugural  address,4  asserted  that  our  title  to  "  Oregon  Ter- 
ritory "  "  was  clear  and  indisputable,"  and  moreover  inti- 
mated that  it  was  his  intention  to  maintain  it  by  arms, 
the  question  assumed  a  far  different  .aspect. 

The  position  thus  officially  taken,  when  the  subject 
of  the  boundary  was  under  negotiation,  took  the  British 
Government  by  surprise,  especially  since  hitherto  each 
party  had  courteously  recognized  the  other's  claim  to  a 
portion  of  the  territory.  Four  months  passed.  Meantime 
the  good  feeling  existing  between  the  two  governments 
was  seriously  disturbed  ;  England  did  not  again  offer  to 
negotiate.  A  mere  partisan  watchword  was  in  danger  of* 
involving  both  nations  in  war.  At  length  the  President 
himself,  directed  the  Secretary  of  State  to  reopen  nego- 
tiations by  offering  as  the  boundary  the  forty-ninth  par- 
allel ;  but  the  proposition  was  not  accepted  by  the  British 
minister. 

To  prepare  the  way  for  further  negotiation,  the 


698  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  dent  then  recommended  that  the  joint  occupation  of  the 

territory    should    b.e   abrogated,    by  giving    the    twelve 

1844.    months'  notice,  according  to  a  provision  in  the  treaties  of 
1818  and  1828.     Congress  voted  to  give  the  notice. 

Sir  Robert  Peel  expressed  in  Parliament  his  regret 
that  the  last  offer  of  the  American  Secretary  had  not  been 
accepted,  and  soon  after  the  British  minister,  Packenham, 
communicated  to  the  Secretary  of  State  the  information 
that  his  government  would  accept  the  parallel  of  forty- 
nine,  as  recently  offered. 

The  case  admitted  of  no  delay.  The  President  was 
anxious  to  relieve  himself  of  the  responsibility  of  acting  on 
the  proposition.  On  the  suggestion  of  Senator  Benton,  of 
Missouri,  he,  following  the  example  of  Washington,  con- 
sulted the  Senate  on  the  propriety  of  accepting  this  last 
proposition,  pledging  himself  to  be  guided  by  their  decision. 
That  body  decided  to  accept  it,  "  and  gave  the  President 
a  faithful  support  against  himself,  against  his  cabinet,  and 
against  his  peculiar  friends." 

Presently  the  treaty  was  sent  into  the  Senate,  when, 
after  a  spirited  debate  for  two  days,  it  was  ratified.1  By 
this  treaty,  the  parallel  of  forty-nine  degrees  North  lati- 
tude was  agreed  upon  as  the  boundary  to  the  middle  of 
the  channel  between  Vancouver's  Island  and  the  Con- 
tinent, and  thence  southerly  through  the  middle  of  the 
Straits  of  Fuca  to  the  ocean  : — also  the  navigation  of  the 
Columbia  Eiver,  and  its  main  northern  branch,  was  left 
free  to  both  parties. 

1846.  We  left  General  Taylor  at  Corpus  Christi,  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Nueces.  He  now  received  orders  from  Wash- 
Feb.  ington,  to  move  to  the  Eio  Grande,  and  establish  a  fortified 
camp  and  fort  on  the  bank  opposite  the  town  of  Mata- 
moras,  as  in  the  vicinity  of  that  place  Mexican  troops 
were  assembling  in  great  numbers,  with  the  intention,  it 

*  * 

1  Benton's  Thirty  Years'  View,  Vol.  ii.  Chaps.  156-7-8-9. 
V  * 


MEXICO  THREATENS  WAR THORNTON'S  PARTY  SURPRISED.         699 

V 

was  said,  of  invading  Texas.     Leaving  the  main  portion  CHAP. 

of  his  stores  under  a  guard  at  Point  Isabel,  he  marched  to 

the  Kio  Grande,  and,  within  cannon  shot  of  Matamoras,    1846. 
established  a  camp  and  built  a  fort.     These  movements 
called  forth  from  Mexico  strongprotests  and  threats  of 
war. 

When  the  dispute  between  the  two  Republics  began, 
Herrera  was  President  of  Mexico.  He  was  desirous  of 
arranging  the  difficulties  by  negotiation ;  but  the  war 
spirit  prevailed,  and  at  a  recent  election  the  Mexican 
people  chose  for  President,  Paredes,  an  uncompromising 
enemy  of  peace.  When  he  assumed  office  he  sent  a  large 
force  under  General  Ampudia,  to  whom  he  gave  orders  to 
drive  the  Americans  beyond  the  Nueces.  That  officer 
soon  after  sent  a  communication  to  General  Taylor,  in 
which  he  warned  him  of  his  danger  in  thus  provoking  the 
anger  of  "  the  magnanimous  Mexican  nation,"  and  de- 
manded that  he  should  "  break  up  his  camp  and  retire 
beyond  the  Nueces"  within  twenty-four  hours.  Taylor 
replied  that  he  should  maintain  his  position,  and  carry 
out  the  instructions  of  his  government,  which  alone  was 
responsible  for  his  presence  on  the  Kio  Grande.  He  con- 
tinued to  strengthen  his  fortification,  and  to  closely  watch 
the  movements  of  the  Mexicans.  Ampudia  was  at  a  loss 
how  to  act  ;  both  commanders  were  unwilling  to  light  the 
flame  of  war. 

Paredes,  dissatisfied  with  Ampudia,  sent  General  Arista 
to  supersede  him.  The  latter  immediately  ordered  de- 
tachments of  Mexican  soldiers  to  occupy  positions  between 
Point  Isabel  and  the  American  camp,  thus  cutting  off 
communication  with  their  stores. 

General  Taylor  had  sent  Captain  Thornton  with  a 
party  of  sixty  dragoons  to  reconnoitre  ;  the  party  was 
surprised,  sixteen  of  their  number  killed,  the  remainder 
captured.      Thornton  alone  escaped.     Here  was  shed  the    .  p.j 
first  blood  in  the  Mexican  war.  i  24. 


*700  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.          A  few  days  later,  Captain   Walker,  the   celebrated 

Texan  ranger,  who  with  a  select  company  was  engaged 

1846.  in  keeping  up  the  communication  with  Point  Isabel,  came 
into  camp  with  information  that  a  large  force  of  Mexicans 
was  threatening  the  latter  place.  Leaving  Major  Brown 
with  three  hundred  men  to  defend  the  fort,  Taylor  hastened 
to  the  aid  of  Point  Isabel,  which  place,  after  a  march  of 
twenty-one  miles,  he  reached  without  opposition. 

The  Mexicans  self-complacently  attributed  this  move- 
ment to  fear,  and  they  immediately  made  preparations  to 
attack  the  fort.  Taylor  had  concerted  with  Major  Brown 
that  if  the  latter  should  be  surrounded  or  hard  pressed, 
he  should,  at  certain  intervals,  fire  heavy  signal  guns. 
^;ay  The  Mexicans  opened  with  a  tremendous  cannonade 
1  8-  from  a  battery  at  Matamoras,  while  a  large  force  took 
position  in  the  rear  of  the  fort,  and  began  to  throw  up  in- 
trenchments.  The  little  garrison  defended  themselves 
with  great  bravery,  and  not  until  Major  Brown  fell  mor- 
tally wounded,  did  the  next  in  command,  Captain  Haw- 
kins, begin  to  fire  the  signal  guns. 

The  cautious  Taylor  first  put  Point  Isabel  in  a  state 
of  defence,  and  then  set  out  with  a  provision  train  guarded 
by  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  men  to  re- 
lieve Fort  Brown — thus  afterward  named  in  honor  of  its 
commander.  The  little  army  was  truly  in  peril ;  an 
overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy — three  to  its  one — had 
taken  a  strong  position  to  intercept  its  march.  The 
booming  of  signal  guns  still  continued,  and  Taylor  ar- 
dently pressed  on  with  the  determination  to  cut  his  way 
through.  Presently  he  came  in  sight  of  the  enemy,  posted 
May  in  front  of  a  chaparral — in  which  were  their  reserves — 
8>  near  a  small  stream,  the  Palo  Alto.  The  train  was  im- 
mediately closed  up,  and  the  soldiers  refreshed  themselves 
from  the  stream,  and  filled  their  canteens.  As  soon  as 
the  exact  position  of  the  Mexicans  was  ascertained,  the 
American  line  was  formed,  Major  Kinggold's  battery  was 


BATTLE  OF  PALO  ALTO.  701 

placed  on  the  right,  and  Duncan's  on  the  left,  while  the  CHAP. 

eighteen-pounders  were  in  the  centre  on  the  main  road.  1_ 

The  Mexicans  commenced  the  action  with  their  artillery,  1846. 
but  at  too  great  distance  to  reach  the  American  line.  The 
latter  moved  slowly  and  silently  up  till  within  suitable 
range,  then  the  artillery  opened,  and  displayed  great  skill 
in  the  rapidity  as  well  as  in  the  accuracy  with  which  each 
gun  was  handled.  The  eighteen-pounders  riddled  the 
Mexican  centre  through  and  through,  while  Duncan 
scarcely  noticed  their  artillery,  but  poured  an  incessant 
stream  of  balls  upon  their  infantry.  Presently  the  long 
grass  in  front  was  set  on  fire,  by  the  wadding  from  the 
guns,  and  the  smoke  obscured  the  position  of.  the  Mexicans. 
The  American  batteries  groped  their  way  for  three-fourths 
of  an  hour  through  the  burning  grass,  and  when  the 
smoke  cleared  away,  they  found  themselves  within  range 
of  the  enemy  ;  in  another  moment  they  opened  their  guns 
with  renewed  vigor.  At  this  crisis  night  came  on  ;  the 
contest  had  continued  for  five  hours,  and  was  a  conflict  of 
artillery  alone.  The  only  instance  when  an  effort  was 
made  to  change  the  form  of  the  battle,  was  when  the 
Mexican  cavalry  endeavored  to  turn  the  American  flank; 
but  the  infantry,  with  bayonets  fixed  stood  firm  and 
awaited  the  shock  ;  as  the  cavalry  hesitated  to  make  the 
onset,  a  discharge  from  the  American  artillery  decided 
them  to  wheel  and  rapidly  leave  the  field. 

Such  was  the  first  battle  in  the  Mexican  war ;  a  pre- 
sage of  those  which  were  to  follow.  The  enemy  lost  four 
hundred  men,  while  the  Americans  had  only  nine  killed 
and  forty-four  wounded  ;  but  among  the  former  was  Major 
Kinggold,  universally  lamented,  both  as  an  efficient 
officer  and  a  Christian  gentleman.  As  his  officers  offered 
him  assistance,  he  said  :  "  Leave  me  alone,  you  are  wanted 
forward."  To  him  was  due  much  of  the  credit  for  that 
perfection  of  drill  and  rapidity  of  movement  which  the 
American  Flying  Artillery  exhibited  on  battle-fields 


702  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  during  this  war.     The  Mexicans  manifested  here  no  want 

of  courage  ;  they  stood  for  four  or  five  hours  under  these 

1846.    murderous  discharges  of  grape. 

The  Americans  encamped  on  the  spot,  and  at  three 
o'clock  the  next  morning  were  on  their  march  toward 
Fort  Brown.  Meantime  the  Mexicans,  leaving  their  dead 
unburied,  had  disappeared  ;  but  on  the  afternoon  of  that 
day  they  were  discovered  posted  in  a  strong  position  be- 
yond a  ravine,  known  as  the  Dry  Kiver  of  Palms  or  Kesaca 
de  la  Palma.  They  had  been  reinforced  during  the  night, 
and  now  numbered  seven  thousand  men.  Their  right 
and  left  were  protected  by  dense -brush  and  chaparral, 
while  their  artillery,  placed  behind  a  breastwork  and 
beyond  the  ravine,  swept  the  road  for  some  distance. 
May  General  Taylor  placed  his  artillery  on  the  road  in  the 

centre,  and  ordered  divisions  on  the  right  and  left  to 
grope  their  way  through  the  chaparral  and  ferret  out  with 
the  bayonet  the  Mexican  sharpshooters,  who  were  swarm- 
ing in  the  brush  which  protected  them. 

No  order  could  be  observed  ;  the  officers  became 
separated  from  the  men  ;  each  soldier  acted  for  himself, 
as  he  broke  his  way  through  the  chaparral  and  probed  for 
the  Mexicans.  The  sharp  twang  of  the  rifle,  the  dull 
sound  of  the  musket,  the  deep  mutterings  of  the  cannon, 
the  shrill  cries  of  the  Mexicans,  so  in  contrast  with  the 
vigorous  shouts  of  the  Americans,  produced  a  tremendous 
uproar.  The  right  and  left  had  gradually  forced  their 
way  through  the  chaparral  almost  to  the  ravine,  but  the 
Mexican  battery,  handled  with  great  coolness  and  execu- 
tion, still  swept  the  road  at  every,  discharge,  and  held  the 
centre  in  check.  That  battery,  the  key  of  the  Mexican 
position,  must  be  taken.  General  Taylor  turned  to 
Captain  May,  of  the  dragoons,  and  pointing  to  the  battery, 
said  :  "  You  must  take  it."  The  captain  wheeled  his 
horse  and  shouted  to  his  troops,  "  Men,  we  must  take  that 


BATTLE   OF   RESACA   DE   LA   PALMA.  703 

battery  !"     Just  then  Lieutenant  Kidgely  suggested  to  CHAP. 

May  to  wait  until  he  would  draw  the  Mexican  fire.     The  L_ 

moment  a  portion  of  their  guns  were  fired,  the  bugle  was  1846. 
heard  high  above  the  din,  to  sound  a  charge.  The  atten-  ' 
tion  of  the  combatants  was  arrested,  all  eyes  were  turned 
toward  the  road,  along  which  dashed  the  horsemen,  led 
by  their  gallant  leader.  A  cloud  of  dust  soon  hid  them 
from  view  ;  a  discharge  of  the  Mexican  guns  swept  away 
one-third  of  their  number,  but  in  a  moment  more,  the 
clashing  sabres  and  the  trampling" of  men  under  the  horses' 
feet,  proclaimed  that  the  battery  was  taken.  The  Mexi- 
can cannoneers  were  paralyzed  at  the  sudden  appearance 
of  the  approaching  foe,  and  before  they  could  recover,  the 
dragoons  were  upon  them.  May,  with  his  own  hands, 
captured  General  La  Vega,  the  commander,  who  was  in 
the  act  of  applying  a  match  to  a  gun.  The  dragoons 
then  charged  directly  through  the  Mexican  centre. 

A  shout  of  triumph  arose  from  the  American  lines,  the 
infantry  pressed  on  and  took  possession  of  the  guns,  from 
which  the  dragoons  had  driven  the  men.  The  entire 
Mexican  force,  panic-stricken  at  the  sudden  onset,  broke  and 
fled  in  confusion  to  the  nearest  point  of  the  Kio  Grande  ; 
in  their  haste  to  pass  over  which,  numbers  of  them  were 
drowned. 

It  was  a  complete  victory.  General  Arista  fled,  and 
without  a  companion,  leaving  his  private  papers,  as  well 
as  his  public  correspondence.  All  the  Mexican  artillery, 
two  thousand  stand  of  arms,  and  six  hundred  mules,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  The  latter  lost  one 
hundred  and  twenty- two,  and  the  Mexicans  twelve  hun- 
dred. 

We  may  well  imagine  the  emotions  with  which  the 
little  garrison,  exhausted  by  the  exertions  of  six  days'  in- 
cessant bombardment,  listened  to  the  sound  of  the  battle, 
as  it  drew  nearer  and  nearer  ;  first  was  heard  the  cannon, 
then  the  musketry  ;  then  the  smoke  could  be  seen  floating 


704  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAI*   above  the  distant  trees  ;  now  Mexicans  here  and  there 

appeared  in  full  flight ;  presently  the  victorious  American 

1846.    cavalry^ame  in  sight,  and  the  men  mounted  the  ramparts 
1    and  shouted  a  welcome. 

General  Taylor  advanced  to  Fort  Brown,  then  in  a 
few  days  crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  and  took  possession  of 
Ma      Matamoras.     The  Mexicans  had  withdrawn  the  previous 
18.     evening  and  were  in  full  march  toward  Monterey.     The 
American  commander  took  pains  not  to  change  or  inter- 
fere with  the  municipal  laws  of  the  town  ;  the  people 
enjoyed  their  civil  and  religious  privileges.     They  were 
paid  good  prices  for  provisions,  which  they  furnished  in 
abundance  ;   yet  there  was  evidently  in  their  hearts  a 
deep-toned  feeling  of  hatred  toward  the  invaders. 
» 

Meanwhile  intelligence  of  the  capture  of  Captain 
Thornton's  reconnoitring  party  had  reached  the  United 
States,  and  the  rumor  that  Mexican  soldiers,  in  over- 
powering numbers,  were  between  the  Nueces  and  the  Eio 
Grande. 

The  President  immediately  sent  a  special  message  to 

Congress,  in  which  he  announced  that  "  war  existed  by 

May    the  act  of  Mexico  ;  "  but  surely  it  was  an  "  act "  of  self- 

1L     defence  on  the  part  of  the  Mexicans,  and  made  so  by  the 

advance  of  an  American  army  upon  disputed  soil,  that  had 

been  in  their  possession  and  that  of  their  fathers'  fathers. 

The  President  called  upon  Congress  to  recognize  the 
war,  to  appropriate  the  necessary  funds  to  carry  it  on,  and 
to  authorize  him  to  call  upon  the  country  for  volunteers. 
Congress,  anxious  to  rescue  the  army  from  danger,  ap- 
propriated ten  millions  of  dollars,  and  empowered  the 
President  to  accept  the  services  of  fifty  thousand  volun- 
teers ;  one-half  of  whom  to  be  mustered  into  the  army, 
and  the  other  half  kept  as  a  reserve.  War  was  not  for- 
mally declared,  yet  the  war  spirit  aroused  was  unprece- 
dented. Throughout  the  land  public  meetings  were  held, 


PLAN   OF   OPERATIONS — MEXICO   DECLARES   WAR.  705 

and  in  a  few  weeks  two  hundred  thousand  volunteers  had  CHAP. 

Jjl. 

offered  their  services  to  rescue  the  gallant   little  army  

from  its  perils,  and,  if  necessary,  to  prosecute  the  war.  1846. 
Notwithstanding  these  warlike  indications,  great  diversity 
of  opinion  prevailed  among  the  people,  both  as  to  the 
justness  of  the  war,  or  the  expediency  of  appealing  to 
that  terrible  arbiter,  when  all  the  results  demanded  might 
be  obtained  by  negotiation. 

On  the  suggestions  of  Major-General  Scott,  a  plan  of 
operations,  remarkably  comprehensive  in  its  outlines,  was 
resolved  upon  by  the  government.  A  powerful  fleet  was 
to  sail  round  Cape  Horn,  and  to  attack  the  Mexican  ports 
on  the  Pacific  coast  in  concert  with  a  force,  styled  the 
"Army  of  the  West,"  which  was  to  assemble  at  Fort 
Leavenworth,  on  the  Missouri,  then  to  cross  the  great 
plains  and  the  Eocky  Mountains,  and  in  its  progress  re- 
duce the  northern  provinces  of  Mexico.  Another  force, 
"  The  Army  of  the  Centre,"  was  to  penetrate  to  the  heart 
of  the  Republic  by  way  of  Texas,  and  if  deemed  best,  co- 
operate with  the  force  under  Taylor,  known,  as  we  have 
said,  as  the  "  Army  of  Occupation."  The  latter  part  of 
the  plan  was  afterward  modified,  and  the  country  was 
penetrated  by  way  of  Vera  Cruz. 

The  apprehensions  of  the  people  for  the  safety  of  their 
little  army,  gave  way  to  a  feeling  of  exultation,  when  the 
news  reached  them  that  it  had  met  and  repelled  its 
numerous  assailants.  The  war  spirit  was  not  diminished 
but  rather  increased  by  this  success.  Congress  manifested 
its  gratification  by  conferring  upon  Taylor  the  commission 
of  Major-General  by  brevet.  30. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Mexican  people  and  govern- 
ment were  aroused,  and  on  the  intelligence  of  these  dis- 
asters,  war  was   formally  declared   against   the   United    May 
States,  and  the  government  commenced  to  prepare  for  the 
contest. 

45 


706  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


General  John  E.  Wool,  a  native  of  New  York,  who 
had  seen  service  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  distinguished 


1846.  himself  at  Queenstown  Heights,  was  commissioned  to 
drill  the  volunteers.  By  the  most  untiring  diligence  he 
had,  in  the  short  space  of  six  weeks,  inspected  and  taken 
into  the  service  twelve  thousand  men,  nine  thousand  of 
whom  were  hurried  off  to  reinforce  General  Taylor,  while 
the  remainder  marched  under  his  own  command  to  San 
Antonio,  in  Texas,  there  to  be  in  readiness  to  act  accord- 
ing to  circumstances. 

General  Taylor  remained  three  months  at  Matamoras, 

his  operations  restricted  for  want  of  men,  but  as  soon  as 

reinforcements  reached  him,  he  prepared  to  advance  into 

the  country,  in   accordance  with   orders   received  from 

Washington.     He  sent  in  advance  General  William  J. 

Worth,   with   the  first   division   toward   Monterey,   the 

capital  city  of  New  Leon.     Worth  took  his  first  lessons 

in  warfare  in  1812.     From  love  of  military  life,  when  a 

mere  youth  he  enlisted  as  a  common  soldier,  but  his  ready 

talents  attracted  the  attention  of  Colonel,  now  General 

Scott,  and  from  that  day  his  promotion  began.     A  fort- 

Aug.    night  later,  leaving  General  Twiggs  in  command  at  Mata- 

20%     moras,  Taylor  himself  moved  with  the  main  division,  — 

more  than  six  thousand  men,  —  and  the  entire  army  en- 

S  gpt'    camped  within  three  miles  of  the  doomed  city. 

Monterey  was  an  old  city  built  by  the  Spaniards  nearly 
three  centuries  ago.  In  a  fertile  valley,  hedged  in  by 
*  high  mountains,  it  could  be  approached  only  in  two  direc- 
tions ;  from  the  north-east  toward  Matamoras,  and  from 
the  west  by  a  road,  which  passed  through  a  rocky  gorge, 
toward  Saltillo.  The  city,  nearly  two  miles  in  length  by 
one  in  breadth,  had  three  large  plazas  or  squares  ;  the 
houses,  built  in  the  old  Spanish  style,  were  one  story 
high,  with  strong  walls  of  masonry  rising  three  or  four 


MONTEREY   AND   ITS   FORTIFICATIONS.  707 

feet  above  their  flat  roofs.     The  city  itself  was  fortified  by  CHAP. 

massive  walls,  and  on  its  ramparts  were  forty-two  pieces  L_ 

of  heavy  artillery,  while  from  the  mountain  tops,  north  of  1846. 
the  town,  the  Americans  could  see  that  the  flat  roofs  of 
the  stone  houses  were  converted  into  places  of  defence, 
and  bristled  with  musketry,  and  that  the  streets  were 
rendered  impassable  by  numerous  barricades.  On  the  one 
side,  on  a  hill,  stood  the  Bishop's  Palace,  a  massive  stone 
building,  strongly  fortified,  on  the  other  were  redoubts 
well  manned,  in  the  rear  was  the  river  San  Juan,  south 
of  which  towered  abrupt  mountains.  Such  was  the  ap- 
pearance and  strength  of  Monterey,  garrisoned  as  it  was 
by  ten  thousand  troops,  nearly  all  regulars,  under  the 
command  of  General  Ampudia.  It  was  now  to  be  assailed 
by  an  army  of  less  than  seven  thousand  men. 

Ten  days  elapsed  before  the  vicinity  of  the  town 
could  be  thoroughly  reconnoitred.  In  the  afternoon, 
General  Worth  was  ordered,  with  six  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  to  find  his  way  around  the  hill  occupied  by  the 
Bishop's  Palace,  gain  the  Saltillo  road,  and  carry  the 
works  in  that  direction,  while  a  diversion  would  be  made 
against  the  centre  and  left  of  the  town,  by  batteries 
erected  during  the  night.  The  impetuous  Worth,  by  great 
exertions,  accomplished  his  purpose,  by  opening  a  new  road 
over  the  mountains.  In  one  instance  he  came  to  a  small 
stream  in  a  deep  gully,  the  bridge  over  which  had  been 
broken  down.  A  neighboring  field  furnished  the  material ; 
his  men  soon  filled  the  chasm,  and  passed  over  on  a  corn- 
stalk-bridge. 

The  next  morning  the  batteries  erected  the  night  be- 
fore opened  upon  the  enemy,  who  replied  with  a  hearty 
good  will.  At  length,  after  hard  fighting,  one  of  the  Mexi- 
can works  of  great  strength,  situated  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  town,  was  captured.  The  brigade  under  General  Sept. 
Quitman,  of  the  Mississippi  Volunteers,  "  carried  the  work 


708  HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP    in  handsome  style,  as  well  as  the  strong  huilding  in  its 

rear."     General  Butler  had  also  entered  the  town  on  the 

1846.    right  ;  hoth  of  these  positions  were  maintained. 

While  these  operations  were  in  progress,  General 
Worth  succeeded  in  gaining  the  Saltillo  road,  and  thus 
cut  off  the  enemy's  communication  with  the  west.  He 
carried,  in  succession,  the  heights  south  of  the  river  and 
road,  and  immediately  turned  the  guns  upon  the  Bishop's 
Palace. 

During  the  night,  the  Mexicans  evacuated  their  works 
in  the  lower  town  ;  but  the  next  day  they  kept  up  a  vig- 
orous fire  from  the  Citadel.  The  following  morning  at 
dawn  of  day,  in  the  midst  of  a  fog  and  drizzling  rain, 
Worth  stormed  the  crest  overlooking  the  Bishop's  Palace, 

Sept.    and  at  noon,  the  Palace  itself  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
23 

Americans.     Yet  the  city,  with  its  fortified  houses,  was 

far  from  being  taken.  "  Our  troops  advanced  from  house 
to  house,  and  from  square  to  square,  until  they  reached  a 
street  but  one  square  in  the  rear  of  the  principal  plaza, 
in  and  near  which  the  enemy's  force  was  mostly  concen- 
trated."1 The  Americans  obtained  the  plaza,  then  forced 
the  houses  on  either  side,  and,  by  means  of  crowbars,  tore 
down  the  walls,  ascended  to  the  roofs,  then  drew  up  one 
or  two  field-pieces,  and  drove  the  enemy  from  point  to  point 
till  the  city  capitulated. 

The  carnage  was  terrible.  The  shouts  of  the  com- 
batants, mingled  with  the  wail  of  suffering  women  and 
children,  presented  a  scene  so  heart-rending  that  even  the 
demon  of  war  might  be  supposed  to  turn  from  it  in  horror, 

The  Mexicans  had  effectually  barricaded  their  streets, 
but  these  were  almost  undisturbed,  while  the  invaders 
burrowed  from  house  to  house.  The  conflict  continued 
for  almost  four  days,  in  which  the  Mexicans  fought 
desperately  from  behind  their  barricades  on  the  house- 

1  Gen.  Taylor's  Report. 


CESSATION   OF   HOSTILITIES.  709 

tops,  where  they  did  not  hesitate  to  meet  the  invaders  of   CHAP. 
their  hearthstones  hand  to  hand.  _ 

The  following  morning  Ampudia  surrendered  the  town    1846. 
and  garrison.     The  Mexican  soldiers  were  permitted  to 
march  out  with  the  honors  of  war. 

General  Taylor  was  assured  that  those  in  authority 
at  the  city  of  Mexico  were  desirous  of  peace.  In  conse- 
quence of  these  representations,  and  also  of  his  want  of 
provisions,  he  agreed  to  a  cessation  of  hostilities  for  eight 
weeks,  if  his  government  should  sanction  the  measure. 

He  now  left  General  Worth  in  command  of  the  city, 
and  retired  with  the  main  force  of  the  army  to  Walnut 
Springs,  about  three  miles  distant,  and  there  encamped. 


CHAPTEK  LII. 

FOLK'S  ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

The  President  hopes  for  Peace. — Santa  Anna. — Hostilities  to  be  renewed. — 
Troops  withdrawn  from  General  Taylor. — Letter  from  General  Scott. — 
Volunteers  arrive  at  Monterey. — Despatches  intercepted. — Santa 
Anna's  Plans  and  Preparations. — Taylor  advances  to  Agua  Nueva. — 
Battle  of  Buena  Vista. — Its  Consequences. 

CHAP.    THOSE  in  power  at  Washington  had  hoped,  indeed,  it  was 
L  confidently  predicted,  that  the  war  would  be  ended  within 


1846.  "ninety"  or  "  one  hundred  and  twenty  days "  from  its 
commencement,  and  a  peace  concluded,  that  "  should  give 
indemnity  for  the  past  and  security  for  the  future/'  These 
desirable  ends  were  to  be  attained  by  treaty,  through  the 
means  of  that  incomparable  patriot,  Santa  Anna,  then 
an  exile  in  Havana,  who  promised,  for  a  certain  considera- 
tion, if  restored  to  authority  in  Mexico,  to  exert  his  influ- 
ence in  favor  of  peace.  A  secret  messenger  from  Wash- 
ington had  made  to  the  "  illustrious  exile  "  overtures  to 
this  effect,  about  the  time  that  General  Taylor  was  or- 
dered to  the  Kio  Grande  ;  the  special  act  which  led  to  hos- 
tilities.1 

In  his  next  annual  message  the  President  gives  some 

Dec.  information  on  this  subject.  "  Santa  Anna,"  said  that  docu- 
ment, "  had  expressed  his  regret  that  he  had  subverted 
the  Federal  Constitution  of  his  country,"  and  "  that  he 

1  Benton's  "  Thirty  Years'  View,"  Vol.  ii.  pp.  561  and  681-2. 


SANTA   ANNA    AND    HIS   PROFESSIONS.  711 

was  now  in  favor  of  its  restoration."     He  was  also  opposed  C?AP- 
to  a  monarchy,  or  '  i  European  interference  in  the  affairs  _ 
of  his  country."      The  President  cherished  the  hope  that    1846. 
the  exiled  chief  would  "  see  the  ruinous  consequences  to 
Mexico  of  a  war  with  the  United  States,  and  that  it  would 
be  his  interest  to  favor  peace  ;  "  and  further  the  Message 
said,  that  Paredes,  then  President  of  Mexico,  was  "  a  sol- 
dier by  profession,  and  a  monarchist  in  principle  ;  "  the 
sworn  enemy  of  the  United  States,  and  urgent  to  prosecute 
the  war.      Santa  Anna,  on  the  contrary,  was  in  favor  of 
peace,  and  only  wanted  a  few  millions  of  dollars  to  bring 
about  that  object  so  dear  to  his  patriotism  ;  hence  the 
hopes  that  the  war  would  be  brought  to  a  close  in  three  or 
four  months.     It  was  with  this  expectation  that  the  Presi- 
dent, in  a  special  message,  asked  of  Congress  an  appropria-    Aug. 
tion  of  two  millions  of  dollars  "  in  order  to  restore  peace, 
and  to  advance  a  portion  of  the  consideration  money,  for 
any  cession  of  territory  "  which  Mexico  might  make.     It 
was  also  in  accordance  with  this  arrangement,  that,  on  tfo 
very  day  Congress,  at  his  suggestion,  recognized  the  "  ex^ 


istence  of  the  war,"  he  issued  an  order  to  Commodore 
Connor,  who  was  in  command  of  the  fleet  in  the  Gulf,  to 
permit  Santa  Anna  and  his  suite  to  return  to  Mexico. 
The  latter  availed  himself  of  this  passport  to  land  at    Aug. 
Vera  Cruz. 

President  Polk  had  been  duped.  Santa  Anna  never 
intended  to  fulfil  his  promise,  except  so  far  as  to  forward 
his  own  selfish  ends.  Instead  of  endeavoring  to  conciliate 
the  hostile  countries  and  obtain  peace,  he  devoted  all 
his  energies  to  arouse  the  war  spirit  of  his  countrymen  ; 
called  upon  them  to  rally  under  his  banner  and  save  their 
nationality  ;  issued  flaming  manifestos  expressing  the 
most  intense  hatred  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
and  his  righteous  indignation  at  the  wrongs  imposed  on 
his  country  by  the  "  perfidious  Yankees." 


fl 
712  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 


CLn?'         ^S   extravagant  professions  of  patriotism  were  not 

without   effect ;    his   countrymen   deposed   Paredes,  and 

1846.  elected  him  President.  Though  they  had  been  unfortu- 
nate in  the  field,  their  spirits  revived,  and  in  a  few  months 
he  had  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men  concentrated  at 
San  Luis  Potosi. 

Meanwhile  General  "Wool  had  marched  from  San 
Sept.  Antonio.  His  indefatigable  labors  had  converted  the  vol- 
unteers under  his  care  into  well-drilled  soldiers.  Part  of 
their  way  was  through  a  region  but  thinly  inhabited  and 
without  roads,  and  across  a  desert  in  which  they  suffered 
much  for  water.  A  laborious  march  of  six  weeks  brought 
him  to  Monclova,  seventy  miles  from  Monterey — here  he 
learned  of  the  capture  of  the  latter  place.  It  was  now 
arranged  that  he  should  take  position  in  a  fertile  dis- 
trict in  the  province  of  Durango,  that  would  enable  him 
to  obtain  supplies  for  his  own  men,  and  the  army  under 

§eneral  Taylor.  The  inhabitants  cheerfully  furnished 
ovisions,  for  which  they  were  paid  promptly,  and  in 
truth  received  more  favor  than  they  had  recently  ex- 
perienced at  the  hands  of  their  own  rulers,  as  General 
Wool  kept  his  men  under  strict  discipline  and  scrupulously 
protected  the  persons  and  property  of  the  Mexicans. 

The  cessation  of  hostilities,  by  orders  from  Washing- 
ton, ceased  on  the   13th  of  November.     Two  days  later 
Nov.    General  Worth  took  possession  of  Saltillo,  the  capital  of 
Coahuila,  and  General  Taylor  himself,  leaving  a  garrison 
in  Monterey  under  General  Butler,  marched  toward  the 
coast  in  order  to  attack  Tampico,  but  as  that  place  had 
Dec.    already  surrendered  to  Commodore   Connor,  he  took  pos- 
29>      session  of  Victoria,  the  capital  of  Tamaulipas. 

The  United  States  government  now  prepared  to  in- 
vade Mexico  by  way  of  Yera  Cruz.  Just  as  General 
Taylor  was  ready  to  commence  active  operations,  Gen- 
eral Scott  was  about  to  sail  for  that  place  with  the 


TEOOPS    WITHDRAWN   FROM    TAYLOR'S   ARMY.  713 

intention  of  capturing  it,  and  then,  if  peace  could  not  be  CHAP. 
obtained,  to  march  upon  the  city  of  Mexico  itself.  L. 

To  carry  out  the  plan  of  operations,  it  was  necessary  1846. 
to  increase  the  force  under  General  Scott's  immediate 
control.  Troops  in  sufficient  numbers  could  not  be  drawn 
from  the  United  States,  and  a  portion  of  Taylor's  army 
was  ordered  to  join  him  before  Vera  Cruz.  He  thus  in  a 
private  letter  expresses  his  generous  sympathies  with  the 
latter  :  "  My  dear  General,"  says  he,  "  I  shall  be  obliged 
to  take  from  you  most  of  the  gallant  officers  and  men 
whom  you  have  so  long  and  so  nobly  commanded.  I  am 
afraid  that  I  shall,  by  imperious  necessity — the  approach 
of  the  yellow  fever  on  the  Gulf  coast — reduce  you,  for  a 
time,  to  remain  on  the  defensive.  This  will  be  infinitely 
painful  to  you,  and,  for  that  reason,  distressing  to  me. 
But  I  rely  upon  your  patriotism  to  submit  to  the  tempo- 
rary sacrifice  with  cheerfulness.  No  man  can  better  afford 
to  do  so.  Kecent  victories  place  you  on  that  high  emi- 
nence." 

General  Taylor,  though  deeply  disappointed,  at  once 
complied  with  the  orders  of  the  government,  and  detached 
Generals  Worth  and  Quitman  with  their  divisions  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  volunteers  brought  by  General  Wool : 
in  truth,  the  flower  of  his  army.  These  troops  were  speedily 
on  their  march  from  Saltillo  toward  the  Gulf  coast.  Thus 
Taylor  was  left  with  a  very  small  force.  During  the  month 
of  January,  and  a  part  of  February,  reinforcements  of  1847. 
volunteers  arrived  from  the  United  States,  increasing  his 
army  to  about  six  thousand;  but  after  garrisoning  Monte- 
rey and  Saltillo,  he  had  only  four  thousand  seven  hundred 
effective  men,  of  whom  only  six  hundred  were  regulars. 

General  Scott  sent  Lieutenant  Kichey  and  a  guard 
of  men  with  a  despatch  to  General  Taylor.  The  Lieu- 
tenant imprudently  left  his  men,  went  near  a  Mexican 
village,  was  lassoed,  dragged  from  his  horse  and  murdered, 


"714  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  and  his  despatches  sent  to  Santa  Anna.     From  these  the 

Mexican  chief  learned  the  plan  for  invading  his  country. 

1847.  He  promptly  decided  upon  his  course  of  action — a  ju- 
dicious one.  Trusting  that  the  strength  of  Vera  Cruz, 
and  of  the  Castle  San  Juan  d'Ulloa,  would  long  resist  the 
enemy,  and  even  if  they  both  should  be  captured,  that  the 
fortified  places  along  the  road  would  still  retard  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Americans  upon  the  capital,  he  deter- 
mined to  direct  all  his  force  against  Taylor,  who  was  now 
weakened  by  the  loss  of  the  greater  part  of  his  army. 

Santa  Anna's  difficulties  were  almost  insurmountable. 
The  city  of  Mexico  was  in  confusion,  torn  by  factions.  He 
took  most  extraordinary  and  illegal  measures  to  enlist 
men  and  obtain  the  means  for  their  support;  raised  money 
by  forced  loans  ;  made  the  church  property  contribute  its 
share  of  the  public  expense  ;  the  Priests  protested  and 
appealed  to  the  superstitions  of  the  people  ;  he  immediately 
seized  one  of  their  number,  the  most  factious,  and  threw 
dm  into  prison,  and  the  rest  were  intimidated.  Thus, 
for  nearly  four  months,  he  exercised  an  arbitrary,  energetic, 
and  iron  rule.  With  a  well-organized  army  of  twenty- 
Jaru  three  thousand  men,  and  twenty  pieces  of  artillery,  he  com- 
26.  menced  his  march  for  San  Luis  Potosi  in  the  direction  of 
Saltillo,  and  within  sixty  miles  south  of  that  place  he 
halted  and  prepared  for  battle. 

Kumors  reached  General  Wool  that  Santa  Anna  was 
approaching  Saltillo.  Major  Borland  was  sent  with  thirty 
dragoons  to  reconnoitre  ;  he  was  joined  on  his  way  by 
Major  Gaines  and  Captain  Cassius  M.  Clay,  with  another 
company  of  thirty-five  men.  No  enemy  appeared,  and 
they  pushed  on  during  the  day^  and  carelessly  encamped 
for  the  night,  but,  in  the  morning,  found  themselves 
surrounded  by  one  thousand  horsemen  under  the  Mexican 
General  Minon.  They  were  taken  prisoners,  and  Santa 
Anna  sent  them,  as  the  first  fruits  of  the  campaign,  to  be 
paraded  through  the  streets  of  the  city  of  Mexico. 


TAYLOR   AT   SALTILLO — M'CULLOCK'S  ADVENTURE.  *715 

General  Taylor  now  advanced  from   Monterey,  and  CHAP. 

established  his  head-quarters  at  Saltillo.     Leaving  there  L. 

his  stores,  he  made  a  rapid  march  to  Agua  Nueva,  eighteen   1847. 
miles  in  advance,  on  the  road  to  San  Luis  Potosi,  thus  to 
secure  the  southern  extremity  of  the  defile  through  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  rather  than  the  northern  one  at  Monterey.    Feb. 
At  the  former  point  the  Mexicans  must  fight  or  starve,  be-      4> 
cause  of  the  barrenness  of  the  country  in  their  rear  ;  while, 
had  he  remained  at  Monterey,  Santa  Anna  could  have  had 
his  head-quarters  at  Saltillo,  and  drawn  his  supplies  from 
that  comparatively  fertile  district. 

Scouts  reported  that  General  Minon  with  a  large  body 
of  cavalry  was  to  the  left  of  Agua  Nueva,  and  that  the 
American  position  could  be  turned.  Companies  of  dra- 
goons from  time  to  time  were  sent  in  different  directions 
to  reconnoitre.  They  at  length  learned  from  a  "  Mexican, 
dressed  as  a  peon,"  that  Santa  Anna  had  arrived  in  the 
neighborhood  with  twenty  thousand  men,  and  that  he  in- 
tended to  attack  the  Americans  the  next  morning. 

The  clouds  of  dust  toward  the  east,  and  the  signs 
fires  that  blazed  upon  the  tops  of  the  distant  hills,  seemed 
to  confirm  the  report.  But  that  daring  Texan  ranger, 
Major  McCulloch,  was  not  satisfied  ;  and,  accompanied  by 
some  dozen  volunteers,  he  determined  to  ascertain  the 
truth  of  the  " peon's"  story.  They  pushed  on  across  a 
desert  of  thirty-six  miles  to  Encarnacion,  where  they  ar- 
rived at  midnight,  and  found  the  enemy  in  force.  Send- 
ing back  all  his  men,  save  one,  McCulloch  entered  their 
lines,  and,  undetected,  went  from  point  to  point,  obtained 
more  correct  information  of  their  numbers,  then  passed 
out,  and  escaped  to  Agua  Nueva. 

On  the  reception  of  this  intelligence,  Taylor,  leaving 
a  small  guard  as  an  outpost,  retired  up  the  valley  in 
expectation  that  Santa  Anna  in  hot  haste  would  pursue 
him,  while  he  himself  should  await  his  approach  at  a 
point,  which,  in  passing,  he  had  already  noticed.  The  con- 
jecture was  correct. 


716  HISTOKY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CLiiR         Santa  Anna  knew  well  the  position  of  the  Americans. 

He  thought  they  would  not  retreat,  and  he  resolved  to 

1847.  surprise  them.  But  between  him  and  Agua  Neuva  there 
intervened  fifty  miles,  the  last  thirty-six  of  which  were 
across  a  desert.  His  soldiers  were  each  supplied  with 
water  and  provisions  ;  in  the  morning  the  march  com- 
menced, and  at  noon  they  entered  the  desert  ;  in  the 
night  they  halted  for  a  while  to  refresh,  and  at  dawn  they 
were  to  attack  the  unsuspecting  foe.  The  march  was 
rapid  and  secret ;  the  silence  of  the  desert  was  not  dis- 
turbed— not  a  signal  wafc  used,  not  a  drum  beat.  After 
so  much  toil  he  was  sadly  disappointed ;  his  enemy  had 
disappeared.  He  firmly  believed  the  Americans  were  in 
full  flight,  in  order  to  avoid  a  battle.  Some  days  before 
he  had  sent  General  Minon  with  his  cavalry  across  the 
mountains,  to  their  rear,  and  he  now  hoped  that  Minon 
would  be  able  to  hold  the  fugitives  in  check  until  he 
himself  could  come  up  with  his  full  force.  He  halted  only 
to  refresh  his  wearied  soldiers,  and  then  pursued  with  all 
his  vigor. 

The  ground  chosen  by  General  Taylor  on  which  to 
make  a  stand,  was  the  pass — since  so  famous — known 
among  the  Mexicans  as  La  Angosturas,  or  the  Narrows. 
It  was  at  the  north  end  of  a  valley,  about  twelve  miles 
long,  and  formed  by  mountains  on  either  side.  Here  an 
ascent  rises  to  a  plateau,  a  little  more  than  a  mile  wide, 
on  each  side  of  which  rugged  mountains,  inaccessible  to 
artillery  or  cavalry,  rise  from  two  to  three  thousand  feet. 
Numerous  ravines  or  deep  gullies,  formed  by  the  torrents 
rushing  from  the  mountains  during  the  rainy  season, 
rendered  the  surface  in  front  and  on  the  sides  very  un- 
even. Neither  flank  could  be  turned  except  by  light  troops 
clambering  up  the  mountains.  The  plateau  was  some- 
what rough,  with  here  and  there  open  and  smooth  places, 
as  well  as  clumps  of  thorny  chaparral.  The  road  through 


CIRCUMSTANCES   OF   THE   AMERICANS.  717 

.   t 

the  defile  passes  much  nearer  to  the  west  than  to  the  CHAP. 

east  side  of  the   Narrows.     On   this  plateau,  one  mile  L 

south  of  the  hacienda  or  plantation  known  as  Buena  Vista,    1847. 
the  American  army  awaited  the  approach  of  the  Mexicans. 

Early  the  following  morning  clouds  of  dust,  extending 
far  down  the  valley  to  the  south,  made  known  that  the 
Mexican  army  was  near  and  in  motion.  Soon  after,  its 
cavalry  came  in  sight  and  halted  for  the  infantry  and 
artillery  to  come  up. 

The  long  roll  of  the  drum  called  the  Americans  to 
arms  ;  they  obeyed  the  call  with  hearty  cheers.  It  was 
the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Washington,  and  on  the  Feb. 
impulse  his  name  was  adopted  as  their  watchword.  They  22' 
were  placed  under  peculiar  circumstances.  A  few  months 
before,  they  were  quietly  engaged  in  the  avocations  of 
civil  life  ;  enthusiasm  had  induced  them  to  volunteer,  and 
now  they  were  on  foreign  soil,  far  from  their  homes. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  hundreds,  they  were  all  for 
the  first  time  going  into  battle,  with  the  prospect  that  to 
them  defeat  would  be  certain  ruin ;  they  were  about  to 
meet  an  army,  in  its  numbers  nearly  five  to  one  of  their 
own.  In  the  unequal  contest,  their  only  hope  was  in 
their  own  bravery,  and  in  the  skill  of  their  commander. 

The  cautious  Taylor  had  gone  to  Saltillo,  six  miles 
distant,  to  superintend  in  person  the  defences  designed  to 
secure  the  stores  from  capture.  General  Wool  was  left 
in  temporary  command  at  the  Narrows,  and  he  directed 
the  arrangements  of  the  troops. 

Captain  Washington's  battery  was  placed  to  command 
the  road  or  pass,  the  key  to  the  position  of  the  army. 
Colonel  Hardin's  First  Illinois  regiment  was  on  a  ridge  to 
the  left  of  the  pass,  and  Colonel  McKee's  Second  Ken- 
tucky on  another  ridge  in  their  rear.  To  the  left  beyond 
these  was  posted  the  Second  Illinois,  under  Colonel  Bis- 
sell,  while  still  further  in  the  same  direction,  under  the 
mountain,  were  stationed  Colonels  Yell  and  Humphrey 


718  HISTOKY  OF   THE  UNITED   STATES. 

• 

CHAP.  Marshall,  with  the  Arkansas  and  Kentucky  volunteers. 
The  remainder  of  the  army,  including  Lane's   Indiana 


1847.  brigade  ;  the  Mississippi  riflemen,  Colonel  Jefferson 
Davis  ;  two  squadrons  of  dragoons,  and  Sherman  and 
Bragg's  batteries  of  flying  artillery,  were  placed  in  reserve 
on  the  rear  of  the  plateau. 

During  the  morning,  and  beyond  the  range  of  the 
American  artillery,  the  main  body  of  the  Mexicans  was 
also  arranged  in  order  of  battle.  Their  right,  a  battery 
of  sixteen-pounders,  rested  on  the  base  of  the  mountains. 
These  guns  were  manned  by  the  San  Patricio  regiment, 
composed  of  Irish  and  German  deserters  from  the  Ameri- 
i  can  army.  Two  divisions,  Pacheco's  and  Lombardini's, 
extended  in  the  rear  of  this  battery ;  guns,  twelve  and 
eight-pounders,  were  posted  to  the  left,  and  a  battalion 
occupied  a  hill  in  advance  of  the  main  line,  directly  op- 
posite the  pass.  Their  cavalry  was  stationed  in  the  rear 
of  either  flank,  and  to  be  unencumbered,  the  baggage  of 
the  whole  army  was  left  many  miles  in  the  rear. 

About  noon  a  Mexican  officer  brought  a  note  to 
General  Taylor.  In  pompous  terms'  Santa  Anna  sum- 
moned him  to  surrender  at  discretion,  and  trust  himself 
to  be  treated  "  with  the  consideration  belonging  to  the 
Mexican  character."  In  a  brief  and  courteous  note  the 
American  commander  declined  the  proposal. 

Santa  Anna  noticed  that  the  mountains  to  the  east, 
beyond  the  American  left,  were  unguarded,  and  he  sent 
General  Ampudia,  with  light  troops,  around  a  spur  to 
ascend  them  from  the  south  side.  The  movement  was 
observed,  and  Colonel  Marshall  dismounted  his  own  rifle- 
men and  those  of  the  Indiana  battalion,  and  commenced 
to  ascend  to  the  crest  of  the  ridge.  As  the  lines  gradually 
approached  each  other,  skirmishing  began.  The  Mexicans 
kept  up  a  continuous  roar  of  musketry,  while  the  Ameri- 


BATTLE   OF    BUENA    VISTA — SKIRMISHING.  719 

cans  lay  among  the  rocks,  whence  could  be  heard  the  CHAP. 
sharp  crack  of  their  rifles.  1_ 

The  Mexican  batteries  occasionally  threw  a  shot,  but  1847. 
the  Americans  on  the  plateau  remained  silent ;  they 
wished  a  closer  conflict.  They  were  not  idle,  however, 
but  threw  up  temporary  works  to  protect. Washington's 
battery  in  front,  and  also  to  the  right  of  the  pass  close  up 
to  the  base  of  the  mountain.  Thus  passed  the  afternoon, 
with  only  Severe  skirmishing  on  the  mountain  sides. 
When  night  came  on  the  Americans  were  recalled  to  the 
plain.  The  Mexicans  remained  in  position,  and  the  night 
passed  without  any  important  demonstration  on  either 
side. 

General  Minon  had  passed  through  the  defile,  Palo- 
mas  Adentro,  and  in  the  afternoon  appeared  with  his 
numerous  cavalry  upon  the  plains  north  of  Saltillo.  Here 
Santa  Anna  sent  him  orders  to  remain,  and  be  in  readi- 
ness to  fall  upon  the  American  forces,  which  he  promised 
to  either  capture  or  put  to  flight  the  next  morning. 

The  appearance  of  Minon  caused  no  little  anxiety,  and 
General  Taylor,  after  night-fall,  hastened  to  Saltillo  with 
aid,  to  assure  himself  that  any  attack  upon  the  stores 
would  be  repelled. 

During  the  night  Ampudia  was  reinforced ;  and  at 
dawn  he  renewed  the  attack,  and  stretched  his  line  farther 
to  the  right ;  but  Colonel  Marshall,  with  a  portion  of  the 

Illinois  volunteers,  maintained  his  position,  though  pressed    Feb. 
i  •  i  23. 

by  superior  numbers. 

Soon  after  sunrise,  movements  in  the  Mexican  ranks 
indicated  that  a  grand  attack*  was  in  contemplation. 
Their  strength  was  nearly  all  thrown  toward  the  Ameri- 
can left,  where,  owing  to  the  smallness  of  their  number 
and  the  extent  of  the  ground,  the  troops  were  placed  at 
greater  intervals.  The  San  Patricio  battery  was  also 
brought  forward  and  placed  on  the  ridge  in  front  of  the 


720  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

. 

CHAP,  plateau,  while  three  powerful   columns  of  attack   were 

L  arranged — columns  composed  of  the  best  soldiers  of  the 

1847.  army,  and  led  by  its  most  experienced  leaders.  As  the 
foremost  column  advanced,  General  Lane  ordered  Captain 
O'Brien  to  hold  them  in  check  with  his  guns,  and  the 
Second  Indiana  regiment  to  support  him.  O'Brien's  shot 
ploughed  through  their  ranks  from  front  to  rear,  yet  the 
Mexicans  crowded  on  till  the  head  of  the  column  was 
literally  broken,  and  thrown  into  confusion,  and  refused 
to  advance.  Lane  now  ordered  O'Brien  to  move  forward 
fifty  yards  nearer  the  enemy.  The  Indiana  regiment  fol- 
lowed, but  came  within  range  of  a  Mexican  battery,  which 
opened  upon  their  flank.  They  were  ordered  to  retreat 
from  the  face  of  such  overpowering  numbers  ;  the  retreat 
unfortunately  soon  became  a  flight,  which  extended  quite 
beyon*d  the  enemy's  guns.  Now  upon  O'Brien's  artillery 
was  concentrated  the  entire  fire  of  the  Mexican  battery 
and  Pacheco's  column.  His  horses  were  soon  disabled  ; 
not  a  man  of  his  company  but  was  either  killed  or  wound- 
ed ;  he  was  forced  to-fall  back  and  leave  to  the  enemy  one 
of  his  guns  as  a  trophy — a  trophy  which  they  seemed  to 
appreciate  very  highly. 

These  forces  now  advanced  and  formed  a  juncture  with 
the  division  of  Lombardini ;  the  entire  body  then  moved 
against  the  plateau,  and  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  the 
Second  Illinois  regiment  under  Colonel  Bissell.  Four 
companies  of  Arkansas  volunteers  had  been  directed  to 
dismount  and  gain  the  plateau.  They  reached  it  in  the 
midst  of  this  conflict,  but  they  soon  became  panic-stricken 
and  fled.  The  Illinoians,  now  unsupported,  slowly  fell 
back.  While  this  was  in  progress,  a  portion  of  the  Ken- 
tuckians  were  forced  back,  and  Ampudia,  with  his  light 
troops,  came  down  the  mountain  and  completely  turned 
the  American  left.  The  third  heavy  column,  under  Mora 
y  Yillamil,  pressed  on  against  Washington's  battery  on  the 
road.  He  waited  till  they  came  within  close  range,  then 


BATTLE   OF    BUENA    VISTA— WHOLE   COMPANIES   RETREAT.       721 

poured  in  his  shot  with  surprising  rapidity  and  terrible  CHAP. 

effect ;  the  head  of  the  column  melted  away  before  the  L 

storm,  the  wholesmass  was  thrown  into  confusion,  swayed    1847. 
from  side  to  side,  then  broke  and  fled,  leaving  the  plain 
covered  with  a  multitude  of  slain  and  wounded. 

Just  as  the  three  columns  of  the  enemy  had  failed  to 
force  the  American  centre  on  the  plateau,  General  Taylor, 
accompanied  by  fresh  trodps,  arrived  upon  the  field ;  his 
presence  was  needed.  He  brought  with  him  every  avail- 
able man  that  could  be  spared  from  Saltillo.  They  were 
Colonel  May's  dragoons,  a  portion  of  the  Mississippi  rifle- 
men, and  of  the  Arkansas  cavalry. 

The  natural  advantages  of  the  position  had  been  lost ; 
success  depended  alone  upon  the  bravery  of  the  troops  ; 
many  of  the  officers  had  fallen,  and  whole  companies  of 
the  volunteers,  both  infantry  and  horse,  had  left  the  field, 
and  were  in  disastrous  retreat  toward  Buena  Yista,  in 
spite  of  the  efforts  of  General  Wool  and  Colonel  Davis, 
and  other  officers  to  restrain  them.  * 

The  Mexican  infantry,  supported  by  their  fine  cavalry, 
right  and  left,  which  made  shock  after  shock,  continued 
to  press  on.  By  great  exertions  Davis  rallied  the  majority . 
of  his  regiment,  and  a  part  of  the  Second  Indiana  ;  they 
advanced  at  a  quick  step,  but  silent  until  within  rifle 
shot ;  then  gave  the  approaching  foe  a  destructive  fire. 
The  Mexicans  did  not  slacken  their  pace  till  they  came 
almost  to  the  edge  of  the  last  ravine  between  them  and 
their  enemy,  when  they  halted.  The  Americans  came  up 
to  the  opposite  edge  ;  thus  for  a  while  the  two  forces  con- 
fronted each  other  and  fired  across  the  ravine.  Presently 
a  shout  along  the  American  line  rose  high  and  clear  above 
the  din  ;  they  delivered  their  fire,  dashed  into  the  ravine, 
lingered  a  moment  to  reload,  then  rose  upon  the  opposite 
crest,  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  and  with  defiant  shouts 
urged  home  their  fire  more  fearfully  than  ever.  The 
46 


722  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP.  Mexicans,  apparently  astounded  at  the  apparition  which 

was  sending  death  through  their  ranks,  wavered  for  a  few 

1847.    minutes,  and  then  in  utter  confusion  rolled  back  upon  the 
column  which  was  advancing  to  their  support. 

Scarcely  was  Colonel  Davis  free  from  this  when  he 
was  assailed  by  a  force  coming  in  another  direction.  A 
thousand  lancers  who  had  not  been  engaged  approached 
along  the  broad  ridge  ;  they  were  well  supported  by  in- 
fantry. To  meet  this  new  enemy  Davis,  was  aided  by  the 
Second  and  Third  Indiana  regiments.  He  extended  his 
line  across  the  ridge,  stationed  Captain  Sherman  on  his 
left,  and  placed  his  men  in  the  form  of  the  letter  V,  the 
opening  toward  the  approaching  lancers.  They  com- 
menced to  advance  at  a  gallop  as  if  to  charge  their  way 
through  the  centre.  But  as  they  drew  near  they  gradually 
slackened  their  pace  ;  they  expected  the  Americans  would 
fire,  arid  then  they,  would  ride  them  down  before  they 
could  reload  their  pieces.  The  latter  fired  not  a  gun,  but 
awaited  their  approach.  At  length  the  lancers  came  to  a 
walk  at  the  opening  of  the  angle.  The  silence  seemed  to 
fill  them  with  awe  ;  they  were  within  eighty  yards  of  a 
thousand  marksmen,  every  one  of  whom  could  take  de- 
liberate aim.  At  the  word,  every  musket  and  rifle  was 
poised — a  moment  intervened — then  went  forth  the  mes- 
sengers of  death.  The  entire  front  ranks  of  the  lancers 
were  riddled,  not  a  ball  appeared  to  have  failed  of  its 
errand.  This  was  followed  by  grape  and  cannister  from 
Sherman's  battery.  The  dead  and  wounded  men  and 
horses  made  a  barricade  of  struggling  life,  over  which  they 
could  not  pass.  Even  at  this  time,  their  overpowering 
numbers,  had  it  not  been  for  this  obstruction,  might  have 
enabled  them  to  break  through  the  line  and  gain  the  road 
in  the  rear  of  the  plateau,  and  thus  have  modified  or 
changed  the  fortune  of  the  day.  But  those  in  the  rear 
were  appalled  at  the  destruction  of  their  companions,  and 
the  whole  mass  fled  headlong  from  the  field.  As  in  every 


BATTLE   OF   BUENA   VISTA — TORREJON'S   REPULSE.  723 

other  instance  the  Americans,  for  want  of  numbers  and  CHAP. 

cavalry,  could  not  pursue  them,  and  the  fugitives  passed  1_ 

south  of  the  plateau  to  be  re-formed  for  another  attack.        1847. 

Meantime  a  squadron  of  cavalry  under  Torrejon  skirted 
the  mountain  base  to  the  left,  and  penetrated  to  Buena 
Vista,  whither  the  commands  of  Marshall  and  Yell  had 
retired.  General  Taylor  jent  all  the  cavalry  he  could 
spare,  under  Colonel  May,  to  reinforce  that  point.  Tor- 
rejon fell  back  on  his  approach,  and  May  returned  to  the 
plateau.  Then  Torrejon  advanced  again  :  this  time  the 
volunteers  received  him  with  a  scattering  fire  ;  but  the 
Mexicans,  confident  in  numbers,  rode  on  rapidly  toward  the 
hacienda ;  there  they  were  held  in  check  by  a  portion  of 
the  two  battalions.  It  was  here  that  Colonel  Yell,  as  he 
made  a  charge,  was  killed  at  the  head  of  his  men.  Tor- 
rejon himself  was  wounded,  and  Colonel  May  made 'his 
appearance  again,  this  time  with  two  field-pieces,  and  the 
Mexicans  separated  into  two  divisions  and  retreated  out 
of  danger. 

On  the  plateau  the  battle  had  raged  in  one  continuous 
cannonade  :  the  Mexicans  had  on  the  ridge  in  front,  a 
battery  of  eighteen  and  twenty-four  pounders,  principally 
manned  by  the  San  Patricio  regiment,  yet  they  could  not 
silence  the  American  guns.  At  this  point  there  was  a 
temporary  lull  in  the  storm. 

But  on  the  east  side  of  the  valley,  t<9  the  rear  of  the 
plateau,  a  severe  conflict  was  in  progress.  One  of  the 
Mexican  divisions  retreating  from  Buena  Vista,  had  united 
with  a  large  force  sent  by  Santa  Anna  to  make  its  way  on 
the  extreme  left  round  to  the  American  rear. 

Colonel  May  with  his  dragoons  and  a  portion  of  the 
Illinoians  and  Indianians  was  engaged  in  the  unequal  con- 
test. General  Taylor  sent  to  his  aid  a  portion  of  the  ar- 
tillery and  the  dragoons,  with  some  of  the  volunteer 
cavalry. 


724  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

* 

°HAP.          They  soon  accomplished  the  object  by  cutting  off  the 

L  retreat  of , the  Mexicans  who  had  passed  so  far  beyond  the 

1847.  American  left.  They  were  driven  against  the  base  of  the 
mountain  and  thrown  into  inextricable  confusion.  Bragg 
advanced  within  close  canister  range,  and  with  their 
wonted  rapidity  his  guns  played  upon  them  :  the  shot 
tore  and  crashed  through  the  bewildered  multitude,  and 
those  next  the  mountain  endeavored  to  escape  by  clam- 
bering up  its  sides.  The  whole  force,  about  five  thousand, 
became  utterly  helpless,  while  the  wounded  and  dying 
were  increasing  at  a  fearful  rate  :  the  horses  frantic  with 
pain  and  terror  added  to  the  confusion.  A  few  minutes 
more  and  they  must  have  lain  down  their  arms  ;  at  this 
crisis,  as  if  to  stay  the  arm  of  death,  a  white  flag  was 
seen  approaching  from  General  Taylor's  position.  When 
it  came  near  the  artillery  ceased  to  fire. 
.;  Three  Mexican  officers  had  appeared  as  if  for  a  parley; 
they  professed  to  bear  a  message  from  the  Mexican  chief. 
When  brought  into  the  presence  of  General  Taylor  they 
wished  to  know  "  what  he  wanted."  The  reply  was  the 
surrender  of  the  Mexican  army.  They  asked  time  for 
consideration  ;  the  trick  was  not  suspected,  and  the  re- 
quest was  granted.  A  messenger  bearing  a  white-  flag 
was  hastened  with  orders  to  Captain  Bragg  to  cease  firing, 
as  the  Mexicans  were  about  to  lay  down  their  arms. 

General  Wool  was  deputed  to  accompany  the  officers 
to  Santa  Anna,  who  took  care  not  to  be  seen.  As  Wool 
perceived  that  the  Mexicans  continued  to  fire,  though  the 
Americans  had  ceased,  he  declared  the  conference  at  an 
end,  and  returned  to  his  own  army. 

Meanwhile,  under  the  protection  of  the  flag  of  peace, 
the  body  of  Mexicans  in  trouble  stealthily  crept  along  the 
base  of  the  mountain  out  of  danger,  and  joined  their  main 
army  south  of  the  plateau.  Thus,  whether  designed  or 
not,  Santa  Anna  had  extricated  his  soldiers,  and  had  also 
learned  from  his  spies — the  Mexican  officers — the  small 


BATTLE  OF  BUENA  VISTA  —  THE  LAST  ATTACK.        725 


number  of  American  troops  —  only  three  regiments  of  in- 
fantry  and  three  guns  —  on  the  plateau,  and  tthat  their  _ 
main  portion  was  far  to  the  left,  whither  they  had  driven  1847. 
the  Mexican  right  wing.  Shielding  his  men  from  sight 
by  ravines  and  spurs  of  the  mountain,  he  had  for  hours 
been  concentrating  all  his  strength  for  a  final  assault 
upon  the  American  central  position  at  the  pass.  At 
several  points  he  had  met  with  partial  success  ;  but  in 
the  main  his  plans  had  been  frustrated  by  the  indomi- 
table courage,  rapid  movements,  and  hard  fighting  of  his 
opponents. 

Having  concentrated  his  forces,  he  now  brought  his  re- 
serve into  action,  aided  by  the  troops  of  the  right  wing 
which  had  just  been  rescued  from  peril.  The  whole  force  — 
twelve  thousand  strong  —  the  front  regiments  composed  of 
veterans,  with  General  Perez  at  their  head,  moved  up  the 
ascent  from  the  valley.  The  scattered  companies  (Illi- 
nois and  Kentucky  volunteers)  in  advance  of  the  line  were 
taken  by  surprise  at  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  enemy 
in  such  numbers  ;  the  enemy,  which  an  hour  or  two  be- 
fore they  had  seen  in  utter  confusion,  retreating  from  the 
field.  The  multitude,  pouring  in  volley  after  volley  of 
musketry,  pressed  on  and  compelled  these  companies  to 
retire  toward  the  lines.  O'Brien  was  left  almost  alone 
with  his  artillery,  yet  for  a  time  he  maintained  his  place. 
His  shot  buried  themselves  in  the  ranks  of  the  approach- 
ing enemy  ;  but  the  mass  closed  up  the  gaps  and  steadily 
came  nearer  and  nearer.  For  round  shot  he  substituted 
canister,  and  they  were  checked  for  a  time  ;  but  it  was  their 
last  struggle  to  secure  the  field.  Trusting  to  numbers 
and  heedless  of  death,  the  mass  again  moved  on.  Pres- 
ently there  was  not  an  infantry  soldier  to  support  the 
guns,  nor  a  horse  to  draw  them;  still  the  gunners  stood  to 
their  places,  and  retreated  only  as  their  pieces  recoiled. 
At  length  overtaken,  every  officer  or  gunner  either  killed 


726  HISTQBY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CLn?'  or  wounded,  O'Brien  himself  among  the  latter,  they  aban- 

doned  them  to  the  enemy. 

1847.  Meanwhile  the  companies  of  volunteers  took  refuge  in 
a  deep  ravine  to  the  right  of  the  pass.  The  Mexicans 
lined  its  crest  and  kept  upon  them  a  continuous  volley  of 
musketry,  to  which  they  could  scarcely  reply,  while  their 
cavalry  dashed  forward  to  the  mouth  of  the  ravine  to  cut 
off  their  retreat.  Fortunately  the  route  of  the  cavalry 
brought  them  within  range  of  Washington's  battery  at 
the  pass.  His  guns  were  immediately  brought  to  bear 
upon  them  ;  they  recoiled,  relinquished  their  object,  and 
began  to  retreat,  while,  by  throwing  shot  over  the  heads 
of  the  volunteers  who  were  now  moving  out,  he  harassed 
them  exceedingly.  The  Mexican  infantry,  now  unop- 
posed, descended  into  the  ravine,  and  cruelly  murdered 
every  wounded  man  they  could  find. 

It  was  in  this  desperate  encounter  that  Colonels 
Hardin,  McKee,  and  Henry  Clay,  junior,  (son  of  the  dis- 
tinguished statesman,)  and  great  numbers  of  brave  and 
generou|  men  were  slain. 

The  crisis  of  the  conflict  was  near.  O'Brien  overcome 
there  was  no  one  to  oppose  ;  and,  encouraged  by  their  suc- 
cess, the  Mexicans  pushed  on  with  unusual  vigor.  At 
the  commencement  of  this  last  attack  the  Americans  were 
more  or  less  scattered  over  the  plateau  and  on  the  ex- 
tremes of  the  field  ;  but  the  heavy  roar  of  the  battle  made 
known  that  the  issue  of  the  day  was  about  to  be  deter- 
mined, and  they  hastened,  of  their  own  accord,  to  the  post 
of  danger. 

It  was  an  hour  of  intense  anxiety  to  General  Taylor, 
as  he  saw  this  unexpected  host  advance  in  such  order  and 
with  such  determination.  The  battle  had  already  lasted 
eight  hours  ;  the  toil  of  so  many  rapid  movements  over 
the  rough  field  had  wearied  his  men,  while  the  approach- 
ing enemy's  force  was  fresh,  and  in  number  four  to  one 


THE   BATTLE    OF   BUENA    VISTA THE    RESULT  727 


-' 


of  his  own.     Was  it  possible  to  hold  them  in  check  till  CHAP. 

his  own  troops  could  come  up  ?     He  sent  messenger  after  _, 

messenger  to  urge  them  on.  In  one  direction  could  be  1847. 
seen  Bragg,  and  in  another  Sherman,  driving  with  whip 
and  spur  the  jaded  horses  attached  to  their  batteries  ; 
while  in  the  distance  to  the  left  of  the  pass,  could  be  seen 
the  Mississippians  and  Indianians^  under  their  officers 
Davis  and  Lane,  rapidly  advancing,  now  in  sight  and  now 
disappearing  as  they  crossed  the  deep  ravines. 

Bragg  was  the  first  to  come  up.  As  he  drew  near  he  sent 
to  ask  for  infantry  to  support  his  guns  ;  but  Taylor  could 
only  send  him  word  that  not  a  man  could  be  had  ;  he 
must  fight  to  the  death.  The  Mexicans  were  rushing  on, 
and  before  he  could  unlimber  his  guns  they  were  within  a 
few  yards  of  their  muzzles  ;  but  his  men  seemed  to  be  in- 
spired with  an  energy  beyond  human,  and  with  a  rapidity 
greater  than  ever,  discharge  followed  discharge.  The 
enemy  faltered,  as  if  waiting  for  them  to  cease  but  for  a 
moment,  that  they  might  rush  forward  and  capture  them. 
No  such  moment  was  granted  ;  they  still  hesitated,  and 
were  thrown  into  confusion.  By  this  time  Sherman  came 
up  and  opened  with  his  wonted  effect ;  in  a  few  minutes 
more  Washington's  battery  at  the  pass  moved  forward 
and  did  the  same.  Davis  and  Lane  had  just  closed  with 
the  enemy's  right  flank  and  commenced  to  pour  in  their 
fire.  The  Mexicans  recoiled  on  all  sides  ;  they  could  not 
carry  the  pass  ;  hope  seemed  to  desert  every  breast,  and 
pell-mell  they  rushed  from  the  field. 

Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Buena  Yista.  It  had  lasted 
ten  hours ;  had  been  a  series  of  encounters,  in  different 
parts  of  the  field,  each  one  severe  in  itself,  but  indecisive 
in  result.  Never  before  had  an  American  army  contend- 
ed with  such  odds,  and  under  disadvantages  so  great.  It 
was  won  by  the  superior  handling  of  the  flying  artillery, 
which  thinned  and  broke  the  foremost  ranks  of  the  enemy 
before  they  could  bring  their  superior  numbers  to  bear. 


A 
728  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

9tP 

°LnP'  When  ^pulsed,  they  invariably  fell  back  out  of  danger,  to 

,  be  again  re-formed  for  another  attack,  while  the  Ameri- 

1847.  cans,  for  want  of  cavalry  and  sufficient  numbers,  could 
not  pursue  and  disperse  them  beyond  the  power  of  rally- 
ing. On  the  part  of  the  latter  the  day  was  one  of  un- 
^  remitting  toil  ;  their  fewness  of  numbers,  the  extent  of 
the  field,  the  roughness  of  the  ground,  and  the  numerous 
attacks, F  forced  them  to  be  continually  in  rapid  and 
laborious  motion.  General  Taylor  was  in  the  midst  of 
flying  balls  for  eight  hours,  only  one  of  which  passed 
through  his  coat.  He  was  ably  seconded  by  his  officers,  not 
one  of  whom  swerved  from  a  post  of  danger  nor  neglected  a 
duty — especially  could  this  be  said  of  General  Wool,  who 
seemed  to  be  at  every  point  where  he  was  specially  needed. 
The  superior  skill  with  which  the  American  guns  were 
handled  was  due  to  the  exertions  of  the  West  Point 
officers,  who  spared  no  effort  to  infuse  into  the  ranks  their 
own  spirit  of  discipline  ;  and  equal  honor  is  due  to  the 
volunteers,  who,  with  but  few  exceptions,  cheerfully  sub- 
mitted to  the  requisite  drudgery  of  drill. 

The  Mexicans  hoped  to  win  the  battle  by  musketry 
and  charges  of  cavalry  ;  their  heavy  guns  they  did  not 
bring  upon  the  field,  but  placed  them  in  battery  in  front 
of  the  pass. 

The  influence  of  this  battle  was  more  important  than 
any  one  of  the  war.  It  destroyed  that  fictitious  prestige 
which  Santa  Anna  had  obtained  over  his  countrymen  by 
his  vain  boastings  and  unsparing  censure  of  their  pre- 
vious commanders,  and  it  greatly  increased  their  dread 
of  the  invader's  artillery  ;  henceforth  they  met  them  only 
from  behind  defences,  and  avoided  them  in  the  open  field. 

Night  closed  in.  The  Americans  took  every  precau- 
tion to  repel  the  attack  which  was  expected  the  next 
morning.  Strong  pickets  were  posted  to  prevent  the 
enemy  from  passing  round  to  the  right  or  left.  The  troops 


• 


SANTA  ANNA'S  RETREAT.  729 

having  been  supplied  with  their  rations,  remained  on  the  CHAP. 

field  for  the  night.     Fresh  companies  were  brought  from  L 

the  rear  to  supply  the  place  of  those  who  took  charge  of  1847. 
the  wounded,  who  were  carried   in  wagons   to  Saltillo. 
The  loss  of  the  day  had  been  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
killed,  and  four  hundred  and  fifty-six  wounded.  Feb. 

The  morning  dawned,  but  not  a  Mexican  could  be 
seen.  Santa  Anna  had  retreated,  leaving  his  wounded  to 
their  fate,  and  his  dead  unburied.  More  than  two  thou- 
sand of  his  men,  including  many  officers  of  high  rank,  lay 
scattered  over  the  field. 

Scouts  hurried  on  to  reconnoitre  ;  in  an  hour  or  two 
they  returned  with  information  that  he  was  far  on  his  way 
toward  Agua  Nueva.  General  Taylor  and  his  staff  im- 
mediately moved  on  in  the  same  direction,  but  sent  in 
advance  Major  Bliss,  with  a  proposition  to  Santa  Anna 
for  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  and  a  request  that  he  would 
send  for  his  wounded,  as  well  as  another  assurance  that 
the  American  government  was  desirous  of  peace.  An  ex* 
change  of  prisoners  took  place,  but  as  Santa  A^fea  pro- 
fessed to  have  no  means  to  remove  his  wounded,  he  left 
them  to  be  cared  for  by  the  Americans  ;  as  to  the  propo- 
sition for  peace  he  replied,  in  his  usual  style  of  bravado, 
that  he  should  prosecute  the  war  until  the  invaders  had 
left  his  country. 

The  Mexican  soldiers  were  in  a  truly  deplorable  con- 
dition ;  they  were  without  hospital  supplies,  and  almost 
literally  without  food,  and  no  means  to  obtain  it — a  desert 
before  them,  and  a  victorious  enemy  in  their  rear.  Santa 
Anna  urged  on  his  retreat  toward  San  Luis  Potosi, 
whence  one  month  before  he  had  set  out  sure  of  victory ; 
desertions  had  now  reduced  his  great  army  to  a  mere 
remnant,  and  that  discouraged  by  defeat,  while  confidence 
in  his  generalship  was  gone.  In  addition,  signs  of  another 
revolution  were  appearing  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  by  which 
his  enemies  might  triumph. 


730  HISTOBY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


General  Taylor  advanced  to  Agua  ISTueva  ;  thence  two 
days  later  he  detached  Colonel  Belknap,  with  the  dra- 


1847.  goons  and  a  regiment  of  infantry  —  transported  in  wagons 
2^*  across  the  desert  —  to  surprise  the  rear  guard  of  the  Mexi- 
can army  at  Encarnacion.  The  feat  was  successfully  ac- 
complished. All  along  the  way  from  the  battle-field  were 
found  multitudes  of%poor  Mexican  soldiers,  left  by  their 
heartless  companions  to  die  of  their  wounds,  hunger,  and 
fatigue.  As  soon  as  possible  the  humane  Taylor  sent 
them  provisions,  and  had  those  that  could  be  removed 
conveyed  to  Saltillo  and  placed  under  the  care  of  the 
American  surgeons. 

While  these  operations  were  in  progress,  the  two 
Mexican  generals,  Urrea  and  Komero,  with  their  corps  of 
cavalry,  had  appeared  on  the  line  of  communication  be- 
tween Saltillo  and  the  Kio  Grande.  They  had  captured 
some  wagons,  taken  some  prisoners,  and  spread  alarm  all 
along  the  line.  A  sufficient  force  was  now  sent  to  chastise 
them,  but  they  rapidly  retreated  out  of  danger  by  the 
pass  of  Tula,  leaving  the  valley  of  the  Kio  Grande  to  the 
Americans. 

General  Taylor,  by  easy  stages,  retraced  his  steps, 
....  and  encamped  once  more  at  the  Walnut  Springs,  near 
30.  Monterey. 

Whilst  the  line  of  communication  was  broken,  vague 
rumors  reached  the  United  States,  first,  that  Santa  Anna 
was  approaching  Monterey  with  a  large  army,  then,  that 
the  American  army  had  .been  overpowered.  These  ap- 
prehensions were  greatly  increased  by  a  volunteer  Colonel 
at  Camargo,  who,  in  his  alarm,  sent  an  urgent  appeal  for 
fifty  thousand  men  to  be  sent  immediately  to  the  seat  of 
war.  Presently  came  intelligence  of  the  battle  of  Buena 
Vista  ;  and  the  intense  anxiety  of  the  people  was 
changed  to  admiration  for  the  men  who,  under  such  try- 
ing circumstances,  had  maintained  the  honor  of  their 

* 


GENERAL  TAYLOR'S  RECEPTION.  731 

country.     Gen.  Taylor,  of  whom  so  little  had  been  known  CHAP. 

before  the  commencement  of  this  war,  rose  higher  and  1_ 

higher  in  public  estimation.     Some  months  later,  when  1847. 
he  returned  to  the  United  States,  he  was  received  with 
demonstrations  of  the  highest  respect. 


-* 

CHAPTER    LIU. 

FOLK'S   ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

Emigration  to  Oregon. — John  C.  Fremont;  his  Explorations;  his  diffi- 
culties with  the  Mexican  Governor. — American  Settlers  in  alarm. — 
California  free  from  Mexican  Rule. — Monterey  on  the  Pacific  captured. 
— Commodores  Sloat  and  Stockton. — Kearney's  Expedition. — Santa 
Fe  taken ;  a  Government  organized. — Doniphan's  Expedition. — Various 
Conflicts. — Chihuahua  occupied. — An  Insurrection ;  its  Suppression. — 
Trial  of  Fremont. 

CHAP.    THE  importance  of  securing  Oregon  by  settlement  had 

,  especially  attracted  the  attention  of  the  people  of  the 

1842.  Western  States.  The  stories  of  hunters,  and  the  glowing 
descriptions  given  in  the  newspapers  of  that  distant  region, 
imbued  the  minds  of  the  adventurous  with  an  enthusiasm 
as  ardent  as  that  which  glowed  in  the  breasts  of  the  earlier 
explorers  and  settlers  of  this  country  two  and  a  half 
'centuries  before.  A  thousand  emigrants,  consisting  of 
men,  their  wives  and  children,  driving  before  them  their 
flocks  and  herds,  their  only  weapon  the  trusty  rifle — alike 
to  protect  from  savage  violence  and  to  procure  sustenance 
from  the  wandering  droves  of  buffalo  and  deer — set  out 
from  the  confines  of  Missouri.  They  passed  up  the  long 
eastern  slope  of  the  Kocky  Mountains,  over  them  through 
the  South  Pass,  thence  to  Lewis'  Eiver  and  down  it  to  the 
Columbia,  on  whose  shores  they  found  a  resting  place, 
after  a  toilsome  journey  of  six  months,  through  an  un- 
trodden mountainous  region. 

These   emigrants  were  followed  the  next    year   by 


COLONY   ON   THE   COLUMBIA  —  FKEMONT.  733 

another  company,  consisting  of  two  thousand,  who  passed  CHAP- 
.  i  j-i  1  1  . 

over  the  same  route.  _ 

These  enterprising  settlers,  with  the  few  who  had  pre-  1843. 
ceded  them,  labored  under  many  difficulties,  as  the  United 
States  government  did  not  exercise  the  jurisdiction  which 
it  claimed  over  the  territory.  A  bill  introduced  into  the 
Senate,  granted  lands  to  actual  settlers,  and  made  pro- 
vision to  maintain  their  rights  as  citizens  by  extending 
over  them  'the  laws  of  the  territory  of  Iowa.  Though  this 
bill  passed  only  the  Senate,  it  gave  encouragement  to 
those  persons  who  desired  to  emigrate  to  the  banks  of  the 
Columbia.  A  colony  thus  planted  by  private  enterprise, 
and  thus  slightly  encouraged  by  the  government,  became 
the  germ  of  another  State,  (Oregon)  now  added  to  the  1859. 
Union. 

It  was  in  connection  with  this  awakened  spirit  of 
emigration  that  Colonel  John  C.  Fremont,  then  a  lieu- 
tenant, made  his  first  exploring  expedition.  He  was  a 
young  man,  once  friendless  and  unknown,  but  had  risen 
by  his  own  talents  and  industry,  and  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Poinsett,  then  Secretary  of  War,  had  been  ap- 
pointed in  the  Topographical  Engineers  by  President  Jack- 
son. Fremont  solicited  and  obtained  permission  from  the 
government  to  explore  the  Kocky  Mountains  and  their 
passes,  but  at  this  time  with  special  reference  to  the 
South  Pass  and  its  vicinity.  In  six  months  he  returned  ; 
he  had  accurately  determined  the  location  of  that  Pass, 
which  now  became  a  fixed  point  in  the  path  of  emigration 
to  Oreon. 


Soon  after  his  return,  Fremont  again  asked  for  orders 
to  prosecute  still  further  explorations  in  that  distant 
region.  They  were  given  ;  but  after  his  preparations 
were  made,  and  he  and  his  party  had  reached  the  frontiers 
of  Missouri,  the  government  countermanded  his  orders,  on 

4 


734  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

°LinP'  the  singular  plea  that  he  had  armed  his  party,  in  addition 

to  their  rifles,  with  a  small  mountain  howitzer.     But  for- 

1843.    tunately  for  science  and  the  country,  the  letter  containing 
the  order  came  to  Mrs.  Fremont,  whom  he  had  requested 
to  examine  his  letters  and  forward  only  those  he  ought  to 
eceive.     She  deemed  the  government  countermand  one 
hat  he  ought  not  to  receive,  and  Fremont  knew  nothing 
of  its  existence  until  he  returned  from  his  eventful  tour. 
On  his  return  he  was  received  with  honor,  his  conduct  ap- 
proved, and  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Secretary  of 
War,  William  Wilkins,  the  brevet  of  captain  was  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  President  Tyler. 

He  had  received  special  orders  to  survey  the  route  of 
travel  from  the  frontiers  of  Missouri  to  the  tide-waters 
of  the  Columbia.  This  was  accomplished  by  the  first  of 
November,  after  six  months'  labor,  though  often  he  diverged 
from  the  main  route  to  make  useful  observations.  He  now 
resolved  to  return,  immediately,  and  when  on  the  way  to  ex- 
plore the  vast  territory  which  must  lie  between  the  route 
he  had  passed  over  and  the  Pacific.  To  pass  through  this 
region  in  midwinter  was  no  easy  matter.  Soon  deep 
snows  appeared  on  the  highlands,  and  the  party  descended 
into  the  valley,  now  known  as  the  G-reat  Basin,  out  of 
which  flows  no  stream.  On  the  west,  the  mountains 
loomed  up  with  their  snowy 'tops  ;  every  thing  was  strange  ; 
the  Indians,  terrified  at  the  approach  of  white  men,  fled  : 
a  desert  appeared,  and  with  it  the  vision  of  starvation 
and  death.  No  place  could  they  find,  as  they  had  hoped, 
where  they  might  winter  and  derive  their  sustenance  from 
hunting  the  animals  of  the  forest.  They  passed  down  to 
the  latitude  of  San  Francisco,  as  found  by  astronomical 
observations  ;  but  between  them  and  that  place,  the 
nearest  point  where  they  could  obtain  aid  from  civilized 
man,  rose  mountains,  their  snowy  tops  piercing  the  clouds  ; 
their  sides  frowning  precipices  thousands  of  feet  high.  No 
Indian  would  act  as  a  guide  through  their  passes.  The 


THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  EXPLORATION.  735 


whole  party,  by  excessive  toil  and  want  of  food,  were  re-  CHAP. 

duced  to  skeletons,  both  men  and  horses.     Finally  they  L 

"  crawled  over  the  Sierra  Nevada,"  and  arrived  at  the  1843. 
head- waters  of  the  Sacramento.  "  In  this  eventful  ex- 
ploration, all  the  great  features  of  the  western  slope  of 
our  continent  were  brought  to  light — the  Great  Salt  Lake, 
the  Utah  Lake,  the  Little  Salt  Lake — at  all  which  places, 
then  desert,  the  Mormons  now  are  ;  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
then  solitary  in  the  snow,  now  crowded  with  Americans, 
digging  gold  from  its  banks  ;  the  beautiful  valleys  of  the 
Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin,  then  alive  with  wild  horses, 
elk,  deer,  and  wild  fowls,  now  smiling  with  American 
cultivation.  The  Great  Basin  itself,  and  its  contents  ; 
the  Three  Parks  ;  the  approximation  of  the  great  rivers 
which,  rising  together  in  the  central  region  of  the  Kocky 
Mountains,  go  off  east  and  west  towards  the  rising  and 
the  setting  sun, — all  these,  and  other  strange  features  of 
a  new  region,  more  Asiatic  than  American,  were  brought 
to  light,  and  revealed  to  public  view  in  the  results  of  this 
exploration."  1 

In  May,  Fremont  set  out  on  his  third  expedition  to  1845. 
explore  still  further  the  Great  West.  There  were  now 
indications  that  war  would  soon  result  between  Mexico 
and  the  United  States.  But  to  avoid  exciting  the  sus- 
picions of  the  Mexicans,  he  obtained  permission  from 
General  De  Castro,  commandant  at  Monterey  on  the 
Pacific,  to  pass  the  following  winter  in  the  uninhabitable 
portion  of  the  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin.  But  before 
long,  De  Castro  professed  to  believe  that  his  object  was 
not  scientific  exploration,  but  to  excite  a  rebellion  among 
the  American  settlers,  and  he  undertook  to  either  drive 
him  out  of  the  country  or  capture  the  whole  party.  A 
messenger,  secretly  sent  by  the  United  States  consul  at 

*  '        r 

1  Benton's  Thirty  Years'  View,  Yol.  ii.  Chap.  134. 


736  HISTOKY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

.<• 


Monterey,  Mr.  Larkin,  suddenly  appeared  in  his  camp  and 
informed  him  of  these  unfriendly  designs.     Fremont  im- 

1845.  diately  chose  a  strong  position  on  a  mountain,  raised  the 
American  flag,  and  he  and  his  sixty  determined  followers 
resolved  to  sell  tljeir  lives  as  dearly  as  possible.     After 
waiting  four  days,  as  De  Castro  hesitated  to  attack  his 
camp,  he  came  down  from  the  mountain  and  set  out  for 
Oregon  through  the  region  of  the  Tlamath  lakes. 

1846.  During  the  former  part  of  May  he  was  overtaken  by  a 
United  States  officer,  Lieutenant  Gillespie,  who  brought 
a  letter  of  introduction  from  James  Buchanan,  Secretary 
of  State,  and  verbal  instructions  to  the  effect  that  he 
should  counteract  any  foreign  scheme  on  California,  and 
conciliate  the  good  will  of  the  inhabitants  toward  the 
United  States. 

Fremont  was  now  on  the  confines  of  Oregon,  but  at 
once  he  turned  back  to  California.  When  he  arrived  in 
the  valley  of  the  Sacramento,  he  found  the  whole  com- 
munity in  a  state  of  great  excitement.  Among  the 
Mexicans  two  projects  were  in  contemplation:  one  to 
massacre  the  American  settlers  ;  the  other  to  place  Cali- 
fornia under  British  protection,  and  thus  shield  them- 
selves against  the  arms  of  the  United  States  in  case  of  a 
war  with  Mexico. 

A  deputation  from  the  American  settlers  hastened  to 
lay  before  him  a  statement  of  these  facts  ;  and,  in  addition, 
that  the  Indians  had  been  incited  against  them  ;  that 
General  De  Castro  was  on  his  march  to  attack  them,  and 
also  that  a  British  fleet  was  daily  expected  upon  the 
coast. 

Though  the  countries  were  at  peace  when  he  left  home, 
the  approach  of  De  Castro  with  a  hostile  army  demanded 
decisive  measures,  and  Fremont  accepted  the  trust  in 
self-defence.  The  American  settlers  flocked  to  his  camp, 
brought  their  horses,  their  ammunition,  their  provisions, 


» 

COMMODORE    SLOAT    CAPTURES   MONTEREY.  737 

and  submitted  cheerfully  to  the  strictness  of  military  dis-  CHAP. 

.    , .  LIU. 

ciplme.  


In  one  month's  time,  after  a  few  conflicts,  Mexican    1846. 


rule  was  at  an  end  in  northern  California.     The  flag  of 
independence  was  raised,  its  device  a  grizzly  "bear  —  indi- 
cative of  indomitable  courage  —  while  General  De  Castro      4. 
was  retreating,  and  all  other  schemes  completely  prostated. 

Commodore  Sloat,  commanding  on  the  Pacific,  received 
directions  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  George  Ban- 
croft. "  If  you  ascertain  with  certainty/'  said  the  Sec- 
retary, "  that  Mexico  has  declared  war  against  the  United 
States,  you  will  at  once  possess  yourself  of  the  port  of  San 
Francisco,  and  blockade  or  occupy  such  other  ports  as 
your  force  may  permit." 

The  commodore  was  at  Mazatlan,  and  a  British 
squadron,  under  Admiral  Seymour,  was  there  also.  The 
former,  from  certain  indications,  suspected  he  was  watched; 
if  so,  he  determined  to  foil  the  admiral.  Accordingly,  he 
weighed  anchor  and  sailed  west  as  if  going  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  Seymour  followed,  but  in  the  night  Sloat 
tacked  and  ran  up  the  coast  to  Monterey,  while  Seymour 
continued  on  to  the  islands.  Sloat  arrived  at  Monterey 
and  offered  the  usual  civilities  to  the  town  ;  they  were 
declined  on  a  frivolous  excuse.  It  was  evident  that  his 
presence  was  not  agreeable.  Five  days  later  he  heard  of 
the  movements  of  Fremont  and  the  settlers,  and  he  at 
once  took  possession  of  the  town.  Then  he  sent  a  cou- 
rier to  the  latter,  who  hastened  with  his  mounted  men  to 


join  the  commodore.     They  were  mutually  astonished  on      f. 
finding  that  neither  of  them  had  acted  under  direct  or- 
ders from  their  own  government.     The  flag  of  independ- 
ent California  was  now  supplanted  by  the  colors  of  the 
United  States. 

Commodore  Stockton  in  a  few  days  came  into  the  har- 
bor, to  whom  Sloat  turned  over  the  command,  as  he  himself    July 
intended  to  return  home.     The  next  day  came  Admiral 
47 


738  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.  Seymour  in  his  flag-ship.      He  saw  with  surprise   the 

L  American   flag  floating  over   the   town,   the   American 

1846.    riflemen  encamped  near  by,  and  an  American  fleet  in  the 
-l^*    harbor.      One  month  later  Stockton  and  Fremont  took 
possession  of  Los  Angeles,  the  capital  of  Upper  California. 
California  had  been  for  some  time  in  a  half  revolu- 
tionary state.       The  inhabitants  were   dissatisfied  with 
Mexican  rule.     Some  wished  to  join  the  United  States, 
and  some  to  seek  the  protection  of  Great  Britain.     The 
conciliatory  course  pursued   by  Fremont   did   much  in 
winning  the  Californians  to  the  American  standard. 

In  the  latter  part  of  July  the  "  Army  of  the  West," 
under  Coftnel  Kearney,  consisting  of  eighteen  hundred 
men,  was  concentrated  near  Bent's  Fort  on  the  Arkansas. 
The  Secretary  of  War,  William  L.  Marcy,  had  given  him 
instructions  to  take  possession  of  New  Mexico  and  Upper 
California,  to  establish  therein  temporary  civil  govern- 
ments, to  make  known  to  the  inhabitants  the  designs  of 
«  the  United  States  to  provide  them  with  free  government, 
and  that  they  would  be  called  upon  to  elect  representa- 
tives to  their  own  territorial  Legislatures. 

The  expedition  moved  rapidly  toward  Santa  Fe,  the 
capital  of  New  Mexico.  The  population  of  that  province 
was  miscellaneous  in  its  character  ;  Indians,  New  Mexi- 
cans," (a  mixture  of  Spanish  and  Indian,)  some  American 
settlers,  and  a  few  of  Spanish  blood.  The  mass  of  the 
population  was  half-civilized,  by  whom  honor  and  moral- 
ity were  reckoned  of  little  worth.  They  were  cowardly, 
treacherous  and  cruel ;  ignorant  and  superstitious.  The 
Indians,  for  the  most  part,  held  the  idolatrous  notions  of 
the  ancient  Aztecs,  and  were  so  debased  that  a  slight 
reward  would  insure  the  committal  of  almost  any  crime. 

The  governor,  Armigo,  a  bad  man  and  a  bad  ruler, 
made  an  effort  to  meet  the  invaders.  He  assembled  about 
four  thousand  men,  of  all  grades,  and,  with  six  field-pieces, 


KEARNEY  ENTERS  SANTA  FE.  739 

took  position  in  a  mountain  gorge  some  fifteen  miles  in  CHAP. 

advance  of  Santa  Fe  ;  but  for  some  reason,  best  known  to  _  L 

himself,  he  abandoned  his  strong  post  and  rapidly  retreated  1846. 
southward,  carrying  off  his  own  property,  and  leaving  the 
people  and  the  public  interests  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
Kearney  entered  Santa  Fe  and  was  courteously  received 


by  the  lieutenant  governor,  Vigil.  The  following  day 
the  people  assembled  in  the  plaza  and  had  made  known 
to  them  the  designs  of  the  United  States  government. 
The  majority  professed  themselves  pleased  with  the  change. 
In  a  few  days  the  chiefs  of  the  Pueblo  Indians  also  gave 
in  their  adhesion  to  the  new  order  of  things. 

Kearney  erected  and  garrisoned  a  fort,  and  in  the 
meanwhile  made  an  excursion  one  hundred  arid  fifty  miles 
to  the  south  to  meet  a  force  which  a  false  rumor  said  was 
marching  against  him.  On  his  return  he  established  a 
government,  at  the  head  of  which  he  placed  Charles  Bent, 
a  worthy  citizen  of  the  territory,  as  governor.  After 
pledging  himself  to  protect  the  inhabitants  against  the 
inroads  of  the  Eutaw  and  Navajoe  Indians,  he  set  out  for 
California.  His  company  consisted  of  only  three  hun- 
dred dragoons,  but  on  the  route,  when  near  the  river 
Gila,  he  met  a  messenger  —  the  celebrated  guide  and  pio- 
neer Kit  Carson  —  who  brought  intelligence  of  what  had 
recently  taken  place  in  California  under  Stockton  and 
Fremont.  He  now  sent  back  two  companies  of  dragoons 
under  Major  Sumner,  and  continued  on  himself  with  the 
remainder. 

Thus,  within  three  months  after  the  orders  had  been 
issued  at  Washington,  a  force  had  been  organized  ;  a 
march  of  a  thousand  miles  accomplished  ;  and  territory 
subdued,  and  a  new  government  established  on  appa- 
rently a  stable  foundation.  A  half-civilized  and  vicious 
population  are  not  fit  subjects  for  self-government,  and 
this  in  a  short  time  proved  a  failure.  Had  Kearney  re- 
mained to  preserve  discipline,  that  result  might  have 


740  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED   STATES. 

C5nP'  been  different,  or  at  least  delayed.     The  town  was  filled 

4with   gambling-houses,  and  grog-shops,  and  haunts  of 

1846.  every  vice,  while  the  free  manners  of  the  volunteers  ex- 
cited against  themselves  the  hatred  of  the  inhabitants, 
who  laid  their  plans  for  revenge,  and  only  waited  an  op- 
portunity .to  carry  them  into  effect. 

Colonel  Kearney  gave  directions  to  Colonel  Doniphan, 
whom  he  left  at  Santa  Fe,  to  enter  the  country  of  the 
Navajoe  Indians,  living  on  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of 
Nov.  California,  and  induce  them  to  make  peace.  Doniphan, 
with  a  thousand  Missouri  volunteers,  in  three  divisions 
and  by  as  many  routes,  entered  the  territory  of  the  hostile 
tribe,  and  obtained  from  them  a  treaty,  by  which  they 
agreed  to  refrain  from  depredations  upon  the  people  of 
New  Mexico.  This  march,  so  remarkable,  was  made  in  the 
winter,  across  mountains  covered  with  snow,  and  through 
an  unknown  region  inhabited  by  barbarous  tribes.  Doni- 
phan delayed  but  a  short  time  in  negotiating  with  the 
Indians,  then  he  passed  on  to  the  south-east  to  meet  Gen- 
eral  Wool  at  Chihuahua. 

The  absence  of  so  many  men  with  Doniphan  afforded 
the  looked-for  opportunity  to  commence  an  insurrection 
in  New  Mexico.  The  plot  was  deep  laid  and  kept  a  pro- 
found  secret.  Suddenly  Governor  Bent  was  murdered, 

14.'    with  five  other  officers  of  the  territory,  some  of  whom 
were  Mexicans,  at  Taos,  fifty  miles  north  of  Santa  Fe. 
The  same  day  witnessed  the  murder  of  many  others  in' 
the  upper  valley  of  the  Eio  Grande. 
*     Colonel  Price,  of  the  Missouri  mounted  volunteers,  was 
at  Santa  Fe  with  the  main  force,  while  detachments  were 
scattered  over  the  country  grazing  their  horses  on  the 
plains.     With  only  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  Price 

j        hastened  to  meet  the  insurgents,  in  the  valley  of  Taos. 

23.     They,  numbering  about  fifteen  hundred,  took  position  in  a 


DONIPHAN'S  EXPEDITION.  741 

pass  of  the  road  through  the  highlands.      Price  routed  CHAP. 

them  and  continued  his  march  up  the  valley ;  but  the   L 

insurgents  made  a  stand  at  another  pass,  still  stronger  by  1847. 
nature,  so  narrow  that  three  men  could  scarcely  march 
abreast,  while  it  was  protected  by  rugged  mountains 
covered  with  cedars  growing  in  the  crevices  of  the  rocks. 
An  advance  party  clambered  up  through  the  cedars,  and 
the  terrified  Mexicans  took  to  flight. 

Their  principal  place  of  defence  was  taken  in  a  few 
days,  and  the  rebellion  suppressed.  Peace  was  promised 
only  on  the  condition  that  the  ringleaders  should  be  given 
up  ;  this  was  complied  with,  and  several  of  them  were 
hanged  at  San  Fernando  :  a  hard  fate  for  those  who 
were  fighting  against  the  invaders  of  their  country. 

v: 

Colonel  Doniphan,  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of 
merchant  wagons,  crossed  without  loss  a  region  destitute  % 
of  water  or  grass — a  desert  ninety  miles  in  extent,  known 
as  the  Jornada  del  Muerto,  or  Journey  of  Death — the 
road  marked  by  the  graves  of  former  travellers  and  the 
bones  of  beasts  of  burden.  In  one  instance  his  men  and 
animals  nearly  gave  out  from  thirst,  when  providentially 
a  rain  relieved  them  ;  a  remarkable  occurrence  in  itself, 
as  at  that  season  of  the  year  rain  seldom  falls  in  that 
region. 

He  learned  that  the  Mexicans,  under  General  Her- 
redia,  who  commanded  in  the  North-western  Department, 
were  awaiting  his  approach  ;  nothing  daunted  he  dashed 
on.  His  force,  including  merchants,  numbered  but  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-six  effective  men,  nearly  all  back- 
woodsmen ;  all  mounted,  armed  with  rifles,  and  gOjpd 
marksmen  ;  untrammelled  by  discipline,  each  one  fought 
as  he  listed.  Near  Brazito,  in  the  valley  of  the  Kio 
Grande,  they  dismounted  and  were  scattered  seeking 
wood  and  water,  when  the  scouts  brought  word  that  the 
Mexicans  were  approaching.  The  alarm  was  sounded ;  26. 


742  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED   STATES 


all  flew  to  arms,  and  amid  a  din  of  shouts  fell  into  ranks 
as  best  they  could.     The  Mexicans  —  more  than  twelve 


1846.  hundred  strong,  and  with  a  piece  of  artillery — drew  near  ; 
an  officer  bearing  a  black  flag  made  his  appearance,  and 

.  in  a  magniloquent  speech,  declaring  that  no  quarter  would 
be  given,  summoned  the  Missourians  to  surrender.  Doni- 
phan's  answer  was  characteristic  and  defiant. 

The  Mexican  cavalry  extended  far  to  the  right  and 
left,  while  the  infantry,  firing  volleys  of  musketry,  ad- 
vanced in  front.  Presently  they  came  within  rifle  range, 
and  the  backwoodsmen  threw  away  scarcely  a  shot.  The 
whole  body  of  the  enemy  broke  and  fled — they  lost  nearly 
two  hundred  men,  killed  and  wounded,  in  a  few  minutes. 
Only  seven  Americans  were  wounded. 

Two  days  later  Doniphan  entered  the  beautiful  vil- 
lage of  El  Paso,  "  where  a  neat  cultivation,  a  comfort- 
,able  people,  fields,  orchards,  and  vineyards,  and  a 
hospitable  reception,  offered  the  rest  and  refreshment 
which  toils,  and  dangers,  and  victory  had  won."  There 

1847.  he  waited  till  artillery  could  join  him  from  Santa  Fe,  and 
•^b.    then  commenced  his  march  upon  Chihuahua. 

The  Mexicans  kept  out  of  the  way  ;  but  after  a  march 
of  nineteen  days  it  was  ascertained  that  they  had  taken 
position  at  a  pass  of  the  Sacramento,  a  small  branch  of 
the  Eio  Grande.  Here  General  Herredia  made  a  stand 
with  a  force  of  four  thousand  men,  protected  by  intrench- 
ments  across  the  pass,  and  on  the  neighboring  hills,  but 
defences  were  of  little  avail  against  men  who  never 
hesitated  to  attack  an  enemy.  Doniphan  suddenly 
diverted  his  route  from  the  main  road,  forced  his  way 
round  to  the  flank  of  their  advance,  and  before  the  Mexi- 
cans could  bring  their  guns  to  bear,  he  was  in  full  play 
upon  them  with  his  own  artillery.  Their  cavalry  as  well 
as  artillery,  fell  back  and  retired  across  the  river.  Now 
the  intrenchments  were  to  be  forced ;  this  was  done  in 
true  backwoods  style.  Each  man  rushed  on  and  fought 


DONIPHAN    TAKES   POSSESSION   OF    CHIHUAHUA.  743 

on  Ms  own  responsibility  ;  some  rode  along  the  entrench-  CHAP. 
ments  seeking  a  place  to  enter,  while  others  dismounted 
and  crept  up  to  pick  off  their  defenders.  The  Mexicans 
fled  from  the  presence  of  their  assailants,  who  leaped  over 
the  works  and  secured  every  place  within  reach.  Mean- 
while a  party  of  mounted  volunteers  crossed  the  river  to 
storm,  on  horseback,  a  battery  which  crowned  the  hill  on 
the  opposite  side.  This  singular  engagement  cost  the 
Mexicans  three  hundred  killed  and  a  greater  number 
wounded,  while  the  Missourians  lost  but  one  killed,  one 
mortally  wounded,  and  a  few  disabled.  The  enemy,  com- 
pletely routed,  abandoned  every  thing  ;  the  officers  fled 
toward  the  south,  and  the  common  soldiers  to  the  moun- 
tains. 

The  following  day  Doniphan,  without  opposition, 
entered  Chihuahua — a  city  of  nearly  thirty  thousand  in- 
habitants— raised  the  American  flag  on  its  citadel,  and,  in 
the  name  of  his  government,  took  possession  of  the  pro-  Mar. 
vince.  He  was  in  a  very  perilous  situation,  with  only  a 
thousand  men,  from  among  whom  almost  every  vestige 
of  discipline  had  vanished.  In  this  city  were  many 
American  merchants,  most  of  whom  were  wealthy. 
Doniphan's  measures  were  prudent  and  just,  and  they 
conciliated  the  inhabitants. 

On  the  27th  of  April  he  set  out  for  Saltillo,  where  he  April, 
arrived  in  a  month  without  opposition,  except  from  a  few 
Indians.     From  Saltillo  he  marched  to  Matamoras  ;  and 
as  the  term  of  his  men  was  about  to  expire,  they  were 
taken  to  New  Orleans  and  there  discharged. 

The  most  remarkable  expedition  on  record.  They  had 
passed  over  nearly  five  thousand  miles,  three  thousand  of 
which  was  a  march  through  an  unknown  and  hostile 
country  swarming  with  foes.  They  returned  in  one  year  ; 
no  body  of  troops  had  ever  in  so  short  a  time  passed  over 
so  much  space  or  surmounted  so  many  obstacles. 

Fremont  was  the  military  commandant  of  California, 


744  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CLnF'  Un(^er  a  commission  from  Commodore  Stockton.  Soon 
after  the  Commodore  sailed  from  San  Francisco  to  Mon- 
terey, and  thence  to  San  Diego.  The  recently  established 
government  was  placed  in  peril ;  a  deep  laid  plot  was  in 
train,  and  only  a  favorable  opportunity  was  wanting  to 
commence  the  insurrection.  Fremont,  by  a  rapid  and 
secret  march  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  surprised 
and  captured  the  main  leader  of  the  insurgents,  Don  J. 
Pico,  who  had  been  a  prisoner,  and  had  violated  his 
parole.  A  court  martial  sentenced  him  to  death.  Fre- 
mont remitted  the  sentence,  and  thus  won  Pico's  influence 
and  aid  in  tranquilizing  the  country.  He  also  endeavored 
to  conciliate  the  inhabitants,  and  made  no  attack  upon 
the  hostile  parties,  which  hovered  around  his  march.  He 
came  up  with  the  main  Mexican  force,  under  Don  An- 
dreas Pico,  brother  of  the  one  whom  he  had  just  pardoned. 
He  sent  them  a  summons  to  surrender,  and  they  agreed 
to  deliver  up  their  artillery  and  promised  to  return  to 
their  homes.  They  were  not  required  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance,  until  a  treaty  of  peace  should  be  concluded 
between  the  United  States  and  Mexico. 

Dec.  Commodore  Stockton  now  learned  of  the  approach  of 

General  Kearney.  The  latter  had  experienced  great 
difficulties  on  his  march  ;  attacked  by  the  enemy,  he  was 
placed  in  desperate  circumstances  at  San  Pasqual ;  his 
provisions  gone,  his  horses  dead,  his  mules  disabled,  and 
most  of  his  men  sick,  while  the  enemy  in  great  numbers 
completely  surrounded  his  camp  and  held  possession  of  all 
the  roads.  Three  brave  men — Kit  Carson,  Lieutenant 
Beales,  of  the  Navy,  and  an  Indian — volunteered  to  find 
their  way  to  San  Diego,  thirty  miles  distant,  and  inform 
Commodore  Stockton  of  Kearney's  peril.  The  Commo- 
dore promptly  sent  assistance,  at  whose  appearance  the 
enemy  retired  and  Kearney  was  enabled  to  reach  San 

Jan-     DieS°' 
8.  A  month  later  took  place  the  battle  at  the  river  San 


INSURRECTION   QUELLED.  745 

Gabriel.     Then  General  Flores,  chief  of  the  insurgents,  CHAP- 

sent  a  flag  of  truce,  proposing  a  cessation  of  hostilities4n  L 

California,  and  to  let  the  sovereignty  of  the  territory  be  1848. 
determined  by  the  result  of  the  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico.  Stockton  refused  to  accede  to  the 
request,  and  continued  his  march.  Another  flag  of  truce 
came  in.  Now  it  was  offered  to  surrender  the  town  of 
Los  Angeles,  if  the  rights  of  the  people  and  their  property 
should  be  preserved.  On  these  conditions  the  capital  of 
Upper  California  was  surrendered  a  second  time,  and  the 
possession  of  the  country  more  firmly  established  than 
before  the  insurrection. 

Difficulties  now  arose  among  the  officers  in  relation  to 
the  question  who  should  be  governor.  But  recent  orders 
from  Washington  relieved  Stockton  of  his  civil  functions,  Mar. 
which  devolved  upon  General  Kearney  as  he  happened  to 
be  on  the  ground.  In  truth,  the  civil  government  was 
only  in  name  beyond  the  range  of  the  American  cannon. 

Fremont,  however,  refused  to  recognize  the  authority 
of  Kearney,  and  was  brought  to  trial  charged  with  diso- 
bedience of  orders  and  mutiny.  The  court  found  him 
guilty  and  sentenced  him  to  be  dismissed  from  the  ser- 
vice. The  President  did  not  approve  of  all  the  findings 
of  the  court ;  but,  because  of  "  the  peculiar  circumstances 
of  the  case  and  his  previous  meritorious  and  valuable  ser- 
vices," remitted  the  sentence  and  restored  him  to  his  rank 
in  the  army.  Fremont  would  not  accept  the  clemency 
of  the  President,  and  thus  admit  that  the  proceedings  of 
the  court  were  just ;  he  at  once  resigned  his  commission. 
In  a  few  weeks  he  set  out  at  his  own  expense  on  his  fourth 
tour  of  exploration  in  the  Kocky  Mountains. 

I 


* 


• 
CHAPTEE    LIV. 

.FOLK'S   ADMINISTRATION— CONCLUDED. 

Movement  of  Troops. — Yera  Cruz  invested. — Its  Bombardment  and  Capitu- 
lation.— Santa  Anna's  Energy. — Battle  of  Cerro  Gordo. — General  Scott 
at  Puebla. — His  Misunderstandings  with  the  Authorities  at  Washing- 
ton.— Commissioner  Trist. — Dissensions  in  Mexico. — Scott's  Manifesto. 
— Reinforcements. — Advance  upon  the  Capital. — El  Penon  turned. — 
Battle  of  Contreras ;  of  Cherubusco. — Attempts  to  obtain  Peace. — 
Conflict  of  Molino  del  Key.— The  Castle  of  Chapultepec  captured.— The 
American  Army  enters  the  City. — Santa  Anna  again  in  the  Field ;  dis- 
missed from  the  Mexican -Service. — Treaty  of  Peace. — Its  Conditions. — 
Evacuation  of  Mexico. — Misunderstanding  among  the  American  Officers. 
—Discovery  of  Gold  in  California.— The  Effects.— Death  of  John 
Quincy  Adams. — The  Wilmot  Proviso. — The  Presidential  Election. 

CHAP.  WHILE  these  events  were  in  progress,  plans  were  formed 
and  partially  executed  to  invade  Mexico  from  the  east  ; 

1846.  "to  secure  Vera  Cruz,  the  best  harbor  on  the  coast,  and 
then,  if  peace  could  not  be  obtained,  to  march  upon  the 
capital  itself. 

Numerous  delays  impeded  operations,  and  it  was  near 
the  end  of  November  before  General  Scott  left  Washing- 
ton for  the  seat  of  war.  The  quarter-master,  General 
Jessup,  was  already  at  New  Orleans  preparing  transports 
for  the  troops  ;  and  communications  were  held  with  Com- 
modore Connor  in  relation  to  the  co-operation  of  the  fleet. 
The  troops,  as  already  mentioned,  drawn  from  Taylor's 
command,  were,  speedily  concentrated  at  convenient  points 
on  the  coast,  but  the  want  of  transports  prevented  their 
embarkation.  The  place  of  rendezvous  was  at  the  island 


VERA   CETJZ    INVESTED.  747 

of  Lobos,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  north  CHAP 
of  Yera  Cruz.  At  length  the  transports  were  ready,  the 
troops,  about  twelve  thousand  strong,  embarked,  and,  on 
the  morning  of  the  9th  of  March,  began  to  land  near 
Vera  Cruz.  No  enemy  appeared  to  dispute  the  move- 
ment. 

That  city  contained  about  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants. 
It  was  protected  on  its  land  side  by  numerous  defences, 
while  on  the  side  of  the  Gulf,  upon  a  reef,  stood  the 
Castle  of  San  Juan  d'Ulloa,  garrisoned  by  a  thousand 
men,  who  manned  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  heavy 
guns  ;  the  strongest  fortification  on  the  continent,  with 
the  exception  of  Quebec. 

The  next  morning  General  Worth  was  ordered  to  com- 
mence the  line  of  investment,  which  extended  nearly  six 
miles.  The  Mexicans  appeared  to  oppose,  but  a  few 
shots  from  the  cannon  dispersed  them.  The  weather  was 
excessively  hot  and  sultry,  and  the  march  through  the 
deep  sand  laborious  and  tedious. 

The  Governor  of  the  State  of  Vera  Cruz  now  issued  a 
proclamation,  calling  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  to 
defend  themselves,  while  he  should  retire  to  harass  the 
invaders  and  cut  off  their  supplies.  He  soon  appeared 
among  the  sand  hills,  but  after  a  short  skirmish,  he 
thought  it  prudent  to  keep  out  of  sight.  The  cannonad- 
ing from  the  town  and  castle  was  incessant,  but  without 
much  execution,  owing  to  the  distance.  The  men  kept 
close  in  their  trenches  and  did  not  reply.  The  munitions 
which  had  recently  arrived  were  now  landed,  and  the 
Americans  were  ready  to  commence  the  bombardment. 
General  Scott  summoned  the  city  to  surrender,  stipulating, 
in  order  to  save  the  lives  and  property  of  the  inhabitants, 
that  no  batteries  should  be  placed  in  the  town  to  attack 
the  Castle,  unless  the  latter  fired  upon  the  Americans. 
General  Morales,  the  commander  of  both  the  city  and 
castle  refused  to  comply  with  the  summons. 


I 


748  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


At  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  bombardment  com- 
_  menced.      The   Mexicans   replied   with   every  gun   and 
1847.    mortar  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  from  the  city  and 
22*"'    cas*le-     Some  of  the  smaller  American  vessels  crept  near 
and  with  their  heavy  guns  added  to  the  uproar  ;  thus 
through  the  night  the  contest  lasted.     Other  guns  were 
brought,  and  other  batteries  erected  within  a  thousand 
yards  of  the  devoted  city.     They  were  hidden  behind  the 
chaparral  ;  this  was  cleared  away,  and  revealed  to  the 
besieged  a  new  foe  —  the  battery  of  Paixhan  guns.     Their 
astonishment  was  great  ;  upon  this  new  enemy  who  had 
dared  to  take  position  so  near,  they  resolutely  directed  all  * 
their  force  for  many  hours.     They  fired  rapidly  and  with 
precision,  but  failed  to  silence  this  battery. 

How  terrific  was  this  storm  !  Twenty-one  heavy 
guns  pouring  forth  an  incessant  stream  of  balls  and  shells  ; 
the  heavy  shot  broke  through  the  solid  walls  and  crashed 
through  the  houses,  while  the  shells,  still  more  terrible, 
scattered  ruin  and  death  in  the  streets,  and  burned  every 
building  that  would  burn.  With  scarcely  any  intermis- 
sion, for  four  days  this  horrid  work  continued.  The  in- 
habitants, to  be  out  of  range,  left  their  homes,  and  help- 
lessly crowded  upon  the  mole  at  the  north  part  of  the 
town,  but  ere  long  the  balls  began  to  come  nearer  and 
nearer.  For  twelve  days  the  town  had  been  invested,  and 
its  provisions  were  now  nearly  exhausted.  The  foreign 
residents  implored  their  consuls  to  aid  them.  The  latter 
obtained  permission  of  Morales  to  send  a  flag  of  truce  to 
General  Scott.  They  asked  a  cessation  of  hostilities  till 
the  foreigners,  with  their  families,  and  the  Mexican 
womeri  and  children  could  leave  the  place.  The  request 
was  properly  refused,  on  the  ground  that  permission  had 
once  been  offered  the  foreign  residents  to  leave  the  town, 
and  that  the  petition  to  receive  attention  must  come 
from  the  Mexican  governor. 

The  American  batteries  re-opened  as  soon  as  the  flag 


I 


VERA    CRUZ    CAPITULATES — MARCH   ON    JALAPA.  749 

entered  the  city,  and  continued  during  the  night.     At  CHAP. 

break  of  day  another  flag  was  seen  approaching.     The  L 

firing  ceased.     Negotiations  commenced,  and  were   ter-    1847. 
minated  by  the  surrender  of  Vera  Cruz,  the  Castle,  the 
armaments  and  stores  of  each,  and.the  soldiers  as  prison- 
ers of  war.     These  terms  were  agreed  to  by  General  Scott 
and  Commodore   Perry,  who  was  in   command  of  the 
squadron.     The  soldiers  were  to   march  out,  with  the 
honors  of  war,  lay  down  their  arms -and  be  dismissed  on    Mar. 
their  parole.     The  inhabitants  were  guaranteed  in  their     29> 
civil  and  religious  rights. 

*  9***' 

General  Worth  was  appointed  governor  of  Vera  Cruz.  APril 
The  advance  division,  under  General  Twiggs,  soon  com- 
menced the  march  for  the  city  of  Mexico  by  way  of  Jalapa. 
The  whole  army  amounted  to  only  eight  thousand  five 
hundred  men,  but  there  preceded  them  an  influence,  that 
threw  a  shadow  of  despondency  over  the  minds  of  the 
Mexicans.  * 

Santa  Anna  had  been  very  active  since  his  defeat  at 
Buena  Vista,  (which  he  labored  hard  to  prove  to  his 
countrymen  was  not  a  defeat  at  all ;  he  only  retreated  for 
want  of  provisions,)  in  collecting  another  army,  and  he 
had  already  arrived  with  twelve  thousand  men  at  Cerro 
Gordo,  a  mountain  pass  at  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras. In  the  midst  of  revolutions  and  distractions,  he 
marched  to  this,  the  first  of  the  "  Thermopylae s,"  which 
he  promised  his  countrymen  to  defend.  Within  two 
months  after  a  disastrous  defeat,  without  money,  without 
the  prestige  of  success,  he  had  quelled  an  insurrection  and 
established  his  own  power,  raised  an  army,  portions  of 
which  had  marched  from  three  hundred  to  six  hundred 
miles  ;  had  constructed  the  fortifications  at  Cerro  Gordo, 
and  made  a  ditch  twelve  miles  long  to  supply  the  camp 
with  water. 


I 


750  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

The  positions  of  the  Mexicans  were  reconnoitred,  and 
the  attack  commenced  by  the  division  under  General 
Twiggs,  sent  to  turn  their  position.  Presently  the  whole 
front  was  assailed.  The  Americans  seized  another  hill, 
El  Telegrapho,  up  the  sides  of  which  they  dragged  heavy 
cannon,  and  began  to  play  upon  the  defences  of  Cerro 
Gordo.  The  Mexicans  replied  with  great  vigor.  During 
this  mutual  cannonade,  Colonel  Harney  led  his  men  rapidly 
down  into  the  valley  between  the  hills,  and  began  to  ascend 
the  slope  toward  the  defences  on  the  top.  The  declivity 
was  steep  and  rugged,  and  soon  the  entire  fire  of  the  battery 
was  directed  against  these  new  assailants,  but  fortunately 
the  balls  for  the  most  part  passed  over  their  heads.  But 
without  wavering  they  pressed  up,  carried  one  breastwork 
after  another,  until  they  presented  themselves  at  the  last, 
the  strongest  on  the  summit.  Santa  Anna,  a  short  hour 
before,  had  ordered  General  Vasquez  to  defend  this  post 
to  the  last  extremity,  and  he  bravely  stood  his  ground, 
and  fell  while  encouraging  his  men  ;  confusion  ensued, 
and  the  struggle  was  soon  ended.  The  Americans  poured 
in  a  stream  of  balls,  forced  their  way  through  the  breast- 
work, and  then  charged  with  the  bayonet.  The  garrison 
fled  down  the  western  slope  in  the  direction  of  Jalapa. 
Twiggs  had  passed  round  the  hill,  their  retreat  was  cut  off 
and  they  made  prisoners.  At  this  moment  Santa  Anna 
returned.  He  was  enraged  beyond  bounds  at  seeing  the 
discomfiture  of  his  troops  in  a  position  which  he  was  cer- 
tain could  have  been  maintained.  He  ordered  General 
Canalizq  to  charge  up  the  hill  and  re-capture  Cerro  Gordo  ; 
the  latter  absolutely  refused  to  obey,  but  led  off  his 
cavalry.  Then  Santa  Anna  mounted  a  mule  taken  from 
his  carriage,  and  fled,  leaving  as  trophies  to  his  enemies 
his  travelling  equipage  and  his  private  papers.  .£*• 

The  Mexican  army  was  annihilated  and  scattered  in 
all  directions  ;  they  had  lost  more  than  a  thousand  men, 
killed  and  wounded,  three  thousand  prisoners,  five 


THE  VOLUNTEERS  RETURN  HOME.  "751 


generals,  all  their  artillery  and  military  stores.     This  was 
not  obtained  without  a  severe  loss  to  the  invaders,  who, 


in  their  rash  and  headlong  charges  in  the  face  of  batteries,    1847. 
and  well  protected  musketeers,  had  lost  four  hundred  and 
thirty-one,  killed  and  wounded,  of  whom  thirty-three  were 
officers. 

Possession  was  taken  of  Jalapa,  three  days  later  jof  4.P"* 
Perote,  a  stronghold  on  the  summit  of  the  Cordilleras, 
which  was  abandoned   almost  without   a   struggle,  and 
then  of  the  city  of  Puebla  —  containing  eighty  thousand 
inhabitants.     At  the  latter  city  General  Scott  established    ^ 
his  head-quarters.  15. 

The  volunteers'  term  of  enlistments  would  expire  in 
one  month.  They  refused  to  re-enlist,  but  urged  that 
they  should  be  permitted  to  return  to  the  United  States, 
and  there  be  disbanded,  rather  than  on  the  soil  of  Mexico. 
They  greatly  dreaded  the  vomito,  or  yellow  fever,  as  the 
season  in  which  it  was  most  severe  was  near  at  hand. 
Though  they  had  no  claims  to  be  thus  dismissed,  General 
Scott  indulged  them,  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  secure 
the  capital,  if  the  volunteers  insisted  on  returning  home 
at  the  end  of  their  term  of  enlistments.  Thus  situated 
he  was  forced  to  remain  inactive  three  months,  till  re-in- 
forcements  arrived  from  the  United  States. 

During  this  interval  several  circumstances  occurred 
which  embarrassed  the  General-in-Chief  s  movements  as 
well  as  disturbed  his  equanimity.  First  was  the  effort 
made,  as  he  thought,  to  degrade  him  from  his  position  in 
the  army.  This  was  to  be  accomplished  by  appointing 
over  him  a  Lieutenant-General,  a  rank  never  held  in  the 
service  except  by  Washington.  The  measure  failed  to 
pass  the  Senate.  The  same  end  was  apparently  aimed  at 
in  another  measure  by  which  power  was  given  the  Presi- 
dent to  appoint  officers  to  any  position  i#  the  army, 
without  regard  to  their  previous  rank. 


752  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP.         Instead  of  money  to  buy  provisions,  came  an  order 

from  the  Secretary  of  War  to  authorize  the  collection  of 

1847.  duties  levied  on  merchandise  entering  the  Mexican  ports. 
In  the  same  communication  was  another  order  to  levy 
contributions  upon  the  Mexican  people.  This  Scott  ab- 
solutely refused  to  obey,  as  General  Taylor  had  also  done, 
giving  as  a  reason  the  poverty  of  that  part  of  the  country. 
Says  Scott  in  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  :  "  If  it  is  expected 
at  Washington,  as  is  now  apprehended,  that  this  army  is 
to  support  itself  by  forced  contributions  upon  the  country, 
we  may  ruin  and  exasperate  the  inhabitants  and  starve 
ourselves  ;  for  it  is  certain  they  would  sooner  remove  or 
destroy  the  products  of  their  farms,  than  allow  them  to 
fall  into  our  hands  without  compensation.  Not  a  ration 
for  man  or  horse  would  be  brought  in  except  by  the 
bayonet,  which  would  oblige  the  troops  to  spread  them- 
selves out  many  leagues  to  the  right  and  left  in  search  of 
subsistence,  and  stop  all  military  operations/' l  And  he 
continued  to  buy  provisions  for  the  army  at  the  regular 
prices  of  the  country,  and  thus  did  much  to  allay  a  rising 
feeling  of  hatred  toward  the  Americans. 

The  Secretary  had  given  as  a  reason  for  this  order, 
that  the  Mexican  people  thus  laid  under  contribution, 
and  compelled  to  bear  the  expenses  of  the  war,  would  soon 
become  willing  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace.  This  might 
apply  to  the  public  revenues,  and  that  part  of  the  order 
the  General  took  measures  to  have  complied  with. 

Other  difficulties  arose.  After  the  capture  of  Vera 
Cruz  General  Scott  suggested  to  the  President  the  send- 
ing of  commissioners  to  head-quarters  to  treat  for  peace, 
should  an  opportunity  occur.  For  this  important  duty, 
the  president  appointed  Mr.  N.  P.  Trist,  whose  qualifica- 
tions were  that  he  had  been  Consul  at  Havana,  could 

"•i"*-         *  ".^' .' 

Scott's  letter  to  the  Sec.  of  War,  as  quoted  by  Eipley,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  95. 


'- 


INSTRUCTIONS   OF   COMMISSIONER   TRIST.  753 

speak  Spanish  and  professed  to  understand  the  Mexican  CHAP. 

character,  his  skill  as  a  diplomatist  could  be  inferred  only  L 

from  the  fact  that  he  was  "  Chief  Clerk "  in  the  State  1847. 
Department.  Having  in  his  possession  the  draft  of  a 
treaty  fully  drawn  out  at  the  department  of  State,  he  left 
Washington  and  arrived  at  Yera  Cruz.  He  also  bore  a  May. 
despatch  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Buchanan,  to 
the  Mexican  Minister  of  Foreign  Kelations.  The  plan  of 
the  treaty  and  his  instructions  he  was  directed  to  make 
known  confidentially  both  to  General  Scott  and  Commo- 
dore Perry.  The  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Marcy,  wrote  to 
the  General-in-Chief,  informing  him  of  the  mission,  but  in 
general  terms,  and  directed  him  to  suspend  active  mili- 
tary operations  till  further  orders,  unless  he  was  attacked. 

Instead  of  making  known  to  General  Scott  the  designs 
of  his  mission  as  directed,  Mr.  Trist  sent  a  short  note  to 
head-quarters  from  Yera  Cruz,  and  transmitted  the  sealed 
despatch  to  be  forwarded  to  the  Mexican  Minister,  and 
the  letter  from  Secretary  Marcy  ;  the  latter  could  not  be 
understood  without  the  explanations  which  Mr.  Trist 
alone  could  give.  The  general  could  only  see  in  this  an 
underhand  attempt  to  degrade  him  by  making  him  in 
some  way  subordinate  to  the  "  Chief  Clerk."  However, 
in  a  few  days  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Trist,  what  he  knew  of  the 
views  of  the  Mexican  people  and  government  in  relation 
to  a  treaty  of  peace,  to  which  at  present  they  were  op- 
posed. In  conclusion,  he  remarked,  that  the  suspension  of 
hostilities  belonged  properly  to  the  military  commander 
on  the  field,  and  not  to  a  Secretary  of  War  a  thousand  £ 
miles  distant. 

In  reply  Trist  gave  full  explanation  of  his  mission,  but 
in  disrespectful  and  arrogant  terms,  assumed  to  be  the 
aide-de-camp  of  the  President,  and  in  that  capacity  to 
order  the  General-in-Chief. 1  This  correspondence  led  to 

- 

ty        l  Ripley's  War  with  Mexico,  Vol.  ii.,  pp.  100,  14/7. 
48 


754  HISTOEY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  much  harsh  feeling  and  retarded  the  advancement  of  the 
cause.     At  length  explanations  in  relation  to  the  com- 


1847.  missioner  of  peace  came  to  the  general  from  the  authori- 
ties at  Washington.  The  Secretary  of  State  severely 
censured  Mr.  Trist  "  for  his  presuming  to  command  the 
General-in-Chief/' 

Santa  Anna  fled  from  Cerro  Gordo  to  Orizaba,  where 
he  remained  some  time  to  organize  bands  of  guerillas  to 
harass  the  American  trains,  which  would  be  on  their 
way  from  Vera  Cruz.  Afterward  he  returned  to  Mexico 
to  find  his  popularity  on  the  wane.  For  a  time  the  Mexi- 
cans were  paralyzed  with  consternation.  Their  army  on 
which  they  had  depended  so  much  had  been  totally  routed 
at  Cerro  Gordo.  The  invincible  enemy  was  pressing  on  ; 
not  a  barrier  intervened  between  them  and  the  capital. 
The  city  was  filled  with  factions  ;  the  national  councils 
were  divided  ;  ambitious  men  forgot  their  patriotism  in 
their  desire  for  self-aggrandizement.  The  treasury  was 
bankrupt,  its  only  resource  forced  loans.  Yet  in  the  face 
of  all  these  difficulties,  Santa  Anna  did  succeed  in  raising 
an  army  of  twenty-five  thousand  men  with  sixty  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  in  having  the  city  fortified.  After  all  he 
was  the  best  commander  the  nation  could  afford,  and  the 
soldiers  once  more  put  themselves  under  his  direction,  to 
repel  the  invaders  of  their  country  and  their  sacred  homes. 
They  did  not  flock  to  his  standard  from  a  prestige  of  vic- 
tory, for  even  when  his  boasts  were  still  ringing  in  their 
*  ears,  he  had  been  ignominiously  defeated  ;  nor  were  they 
induced  by  the  confidence  reposed  in  the  integrity  of  a 
great  and  good  man,  to  whom,  as  if  to  a  superior  being, 
the  multitude  turn  in  times  of  great  peril ;  but  from  sheer 
necessity. 

Santa  Anna  understood  the  Mexican  character.     By 
intrigue  and  the  exercise  of  a  vigorous  arm/ he  seized 
jrty,  and  imprisoned  or  banished  his  opponents ;  by  pre- 


PROCLAMATION    TO   THE    MEXICAN    PEOPLE.  755 

tending  to  be  desirous  of  peace  he  gained  time,  and  dis-  CHAP. 

honestly  entered  upon  negotiations  ;  offered  himself  to  be  1_ 

bribed,  and  was  accepted.    His  plans  were  cunningly  de-    1847. 
vised  :  if  they  succeeded,  the  glory  would  alljedound  to 
his  name  ;  if  they  failed,  the  censure  could  be  thrown 
upon  others. 

Thus  he  employed  the  three  months  that  General 
Scott  was  forced  to  wait  for  the  arrival  of  reinforcements. 
Had  the  volunteers  consented  to  remain  in  the  service  six 
months  longer,  in  all  probability  the  capture  of  Mexico 
and  a  treaty  of  peace  would  have  ended  the  campaign, 
and  the  blood  spared  which  was  shed  in  such  profusion  in 
the  subsequent  conflicts. 

,     ^    • : 

When  at  Jalapa  General  Scott  issued  a  proclamation  April 
to  the  people  of  Mexico.  This  manifesto,  in  its  tone  and  20* 
spirit,  was  well  adapted  to  the  state  of  affairs  of  the 
country,  in  showing  that  the  true  policy  of  the  Mexican 
people  was  to  conclude  a  treaty  on  the  liberal  terms 
offered  by  the  government  of  the  United  States.  The 
proclamation  was  issued  at  the  instance  of  several  Mexi- 
can gentlemen  of  influence,  one  of  whom  composed  it  in 
original  Spanish,  as  it  was  dictated  by  the  general.  It 
was  well  received  by  the  people  in  the  country  ;  but 
Santa  Anna  captured  a  courier,  who  was  bearing  copies 
of  it  to  the  capital.  He  at  once  discovered  by  the  style 

that  it  was  not  a  translation,  and  he  proclaimed  with  his 

*  ••• 

usual  virtuous  indignation,  that  it  was  the  production  of 
some  Mexican  traitor,  and  thus  neutralized  its  effects  on  <«, 
the  people  of  the  city. 

At  this  time,  he  had  by  secret  agents  intimated  to 
Mr.  Trist  that  he  was  desirous  of  peace,  and  plainly  that 
money  would  be  still  more  acceptable  :  if  a  million  of 
dollars  were  placed  at  his  disposal  something  might  be 
done.  That  this  proposition  might  be  considered,  a  re-  June 
conciliation  took  place  between  the  general  and  the  com-  25. 


756  HISTOEY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

°5vP'  m^ssi°ner  t  as  neither  could  well  act  without  the  other. 

1  General  Pillow,  who  had  just  arrived  at  Puebla,  was  also 

184V.  admitted  to  these  conferences.  He  was  a  particular 
friend  of  the  President,  and,  owing  to  the  "  informal  and 
confidential  request  "  sent  from  Washington,  this  partici- 
pation w^as  granted.  Communications  were  continued 
with  Santa  Anna,  but  with  no  more  important  result 
than  that  the  latter  received  ten  thousand  dollars  of  the 
secret  service  money  at  the  disposal  of  General  Scott. 

As  might  have  been  anticipated,  it  was  soon  seen  that 
Santa  Anna's  only  object  was  to  obtain  money  and  gain 
time,  and  General  Scott  made  preparations  to  advance 
upon  the  city  as  soon  as  the  reinforcements  under  Briga- 
dier-General Franklin  Pierce  would  arrive  from  Vera 
Cruz.  Meantime,  the  way  to  the  city  had  been  thoroughly 
reconnoitred,  and  General  Worth  sent  forward  with  the 
first  division.  The  whole  army  consisted  of  not  more 
than  ten  thousand  men,  as  great  numbers  had  been  left  in 
the  hospitals  at  Perote. 

The  region  through  which  they  marched  was  a  high 
table  land  beautiful  in  the  extreme,  well  watered,  inter- 
spersed with  valleys  and  mountains,  whose  slopes  were 
covered  with  the  richest  verdure,  while  in  the  distance 
their  snow-capped  summits  glittered  in  the  bright  sun- 
shine of  August.  Almost  from  the  same  spot  where  more 
than  three  hundred  years  before  Cortez  and  his  followers 
viewed  the  distant  temples  of  the  city  of  Montezuma,  the 
Americans  hailed  with  cheers  the  city  of  Mexico. 

The  passes  on  the  direct  route  had  been  well  fortified, 
and  were  well  garrisoned  in  the  confident  expectation 
that  their  positions  could  not  be  turned.  The  strongest 
of  these  was  El  Penon,  to  capture  which  the  American 
engineers  stated  would  require  the  loss  of  three  thousand 
lives.  General  Scott  was  proverbially  careful  of  the  lives 
of  his  soldiers;  the  sacrifice  must  be  avoided.  The  vicinity 
*  of  the  city  was  reconnoitred  in  the  most  daring  manner  ; 


* 

EL   PENON    TURNED — BATTLE    OF   CONTRERAS.  757 

and  it  was  discovered  that  the  defences  south  and  west 
were  not  so  strongly  fortified. 

The  general  diverted  his  course  to  the  left  and  turned  1847. 
El  Penon  on  the  south  side,  and  under  the  direction  of 
skilful  engineers  crossed  chasms  and  ravines  deemed  im- 
passable, and  therefore  but  imperfectly  guarded^  General 
Twiggs  led  the  advance,  and  encamped  at  Chalco  on  |jjie 
lake  of  the  same  name.  Worth  followed,  took  the  lead, 
and  with  his  division  halted  .at  the  town  of  San  Augus-  Aug. 
tin,  about  eight  miles  from  the  city.  In  his  front  was  1^* 
the  strong  fortress  of  San  Antonio,  now  the  head-quarters 
of  Santa  Anna,  who  left  El  Penon,  when  he  found  that 
the  Americans  were  'in  their  march  round  to  the  south 
side  of  the  city.  North-west  of  San  Antonio  and  four 
miles  from  the  city  was  the  village  of  Churubusco,  ren- 
dered strong  by  a  series  of  intrenchments.  Not  far  to 
the  west  of  the  village  of  San  Augustin  was  the  fortified 
camp  of  Contreras,  which  contained  six  thousand  men  ;  in 
the  rear  between  the  camp  and  the  city  were  placed  twelve 
thousand  men  in  reserve.  The  whole  number  of  Mexi- 
cans in  these  various  defences  was  about  thirty-five 
thousand,  with  nearly  one  hundred  pieces  of  artillery  of 
various  sizes. 

General  Persifer  JE\  Smith  proposed  to  attack  the 
camp  at  Contreras,  which  was  under  the  command  of 
General  Valencia.  The  night  had  been  one  of  cold  rain 
and  storm  and  intense  darkness,  except  when  enlivened 
by  the  fitful  glare  of  the  lightning.  At  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  the  expedition  set  out ;  the  soldiers,  lest 
they  should  become  separated  on  the  march,  were  directed 
to  take  hold  of  each  other — at  sunrise  the  conflict  com- 
menced. The  Mexicans  were  but  partially  surprised, 
still  the  impetuous  attack  effectually  routed  them  ;  three 
thousand  of  their  number  were  made  prisoners,  eighty 
officers  and  thirty-five  pieces  of  artillery.  Among  the 
latter  were  two  pieces  taken  at  Buena  Vista,  now  recap- 


758  HISTORY    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CHAP,  tured  by  a  portion  of  the  regiment  to  which  they  originally 

belonged.     Thus  commenced  this  eventful  day — severer 

1847.    conflicts  were  yet  to  come. 

Generals  Shields  and  Pierce  had,  during  the  night, 
thrown  their  divisions  between  Santa  Anna  and  Contreras. 
The  fugitives  from  the  latter  place  had  fled  to  Churu- 
busco, and  there  fresh  troops  had  also  arrived  from  the 
city  ;  it  seemed  from  the  preparations,  that  here  a  des- 
perate defence  was  to  be  made. 

A  convent,  a  very  strong  stone  building,  was  well  for- 
tified and  pierced  for  muskets  and  cannon,  also  the  head 
of  the  bridge  over  the  river  was  well  defended. 

In  an  hour  or  two  General  Scott  arrived  ;  as  he  rode 
along  through  the  army  he  was  received  with  hearty  cheers. 
The  morning's  success  had  filled  the  soldiers  with  en- 
thusiasm, and  they  hoped  on  that  day  to  end  the  war. 

Santa  Anna  himself  was  busily  engaged  in  arranging 
his  men  beyond  the  Churubusco  Kiver — whose  banks  were 
lined  with  the  maguey  plant,  which  shielded  nearly  all  his 
force  from  view. 

The  rain  of  the  previous  night  had  flooded  the  low- 
lands in  the  vicinity  ;  the  fortifications  were  masked  by 
trees  and  fields  of  corn  ;  the  latter  flooded,  and  every 
part  well  known  to  the  enemy,  whose  guns  were  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  sweep  them  perfectly.  When  the  Americans 
commenced  the  attack,  their  officers,  in  the  face  of  these 
batteries,  would  advance  and  reconnoitre  the  ground,  then 
the  men  would  march  up  to  that  point,  the  officers  would 
again  advance,  and  the  same  process  be  repeated.  During 
this  time  the  cannon  balls  from  the  unseen  enemy  came 
crashing  through  the  corn,  the  men  and  officers  fell  rapidly, 
yet  as  if  impelled  by  some  all  powerful  influence,  they 
moved  steadily  on  until  the  works  of  Churubusco  were  in 
their  hands. 

£  General  Scott  sent  round  to  the  other  side  a  division 

under  General  Pillow  ;  they  waded  through  the  mud  and 


BATTLE   OF   CHURUBUSCO.  759 


watery  in  some  instances  waist  deep,  before  they  could 
reach  the  enemy.     Several  companies  were  entirely  broken 


up,  Captain  Taylor's  artillery  men  were  cut  up,  his  horses    1847. 
killed,  when  suddenly  the  Mexicans  rushed  out  of  the 
convent  to  charge  ;  but  at  this  moment  a  company  of 
American  infantry  came  up  and  repulsed  the  assailants. 

The  ground  was  intersected  by  causeways,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  preserve  military  order  ;  also  owing  to  their 
ignorance  of  the  position  of  the  enemy,  as  well  as  their 
own,  the  Americans  were  constantly  in  danger  of  firing 
upon  their  own  friends.     The  battle  raged  in  every  direc- 
tion.    General  Worth  carried  San  Antonio,  and  General 
Twiggs  another  fortress.     The  Mexicans  fought  bravely,     >jp 
they  were  more  than  three  to  one  of  their  foes,  and  they        9 
made  every  effort  to  repel  them. 

For  two  hours  the  battle  had  raged.  The  smoke 
completely  enshrouded  the  position  of  the  Mexicans. 
The  roar  of  their  twenty  thousand  muskets  seemed  to 
drown  the  noise  of  the  artillery,  and  to  render  the  din  of 
the  conflict  peculiarly  terrific. 

The  Americans  could  but  feel  their  way  through  the 
corn,  and  across  causeways  and  ditches,  ignorant  at  what 
moment  they  might  come  upon  concealed  batteries.  At 
length  a  party  were  enabled  to  cross  the  river  Churubusco, 
and  presented  themselves  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  at  the 
same  moment  Worth's  division  emerged  from  the  corn- 
fields in  their  front  ;  those  in  the  rear  rushed  across 

' 

ditches  and  over  the  parapets  and  carried  the  works, 
while  the  Mexicans  at  the  head  of  the  bridge  abandoned 
it  ;  their  guns  were  immediately  seized  and  turned  upon 
them.  Both  divisions  pressed  forward  with  the  bayonet, 
the  Mexicans  recoiled  in  confusion,  and  finally  fled  ;  the 
dragoons  pursuing  them  to  the  very  gates  of  the  city. 

The  victory  was  won,  but  it  had  cost  the  Americans 
dear  ;  a  thousand  had  fallen  or  been  disabled,  among 
these  were  seventy-six  officers.  The  coolness,  the  in- 

^^^ 


760  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


domitable  courage  and    perseverance  of  both  men  and 
-  officers  were  never  better  displayed.      The  ground  was 
1847.    unknown,  and  they  were  thrown  upon  their  own  resources  ; 
there  was  no  wavering  ;  each  one  performed  his  part,  and 
.  adapted  himself  to  the  emergency.     In  no  battle  did  the 
Mexicans  fight  better  ;  they  struggled  hard,  and  the  num- 
ber of  their  slain  and  wounded  and  missing  —  nearly  seven 
thousand  —  testifies  that  they  were  brave. 

Santa  Anna  fled  to  the  city.     The  night  after  the 

battle  several  persons  connected  with  the  British  embassy 

in  Mexico  appeared  at  the  American  head-quarters,  and 

informed  General  Scott  that  the  Mexican  authorities  were 

*fr    disposed  to  conclude  a  peace,  and  advised  that  the  capital 

^        should  not  be  assaulted,  lest  the  members  of  the  govern- 

ment should  be  dispersed,  and  leave  no  acknowledged 

authority  to  enter  upon  negotiations. 

A  flag  of  truce  came  the  next  day  and  presented  the 
request  for  hostilities  to  cease  preparatory  to  negotiating 
a  treaty.  In  accordance  with  this  request,  and  the  repre- 
sentations made  the  previous  evening,  Mr.  Trist  went 
to  the  capital  and  presented  his  conditions  of  peace  —  the 
same  drawn  up  at  Washington.  After  protracted  delays, 
evidently  designed  to  gain  time,  the  Mexican  commis- 
sioners announced  that  they  would  not  accede  to  these 
conditions,  and  in  turn  they  proposed  others,  which  they 
well  knew  would  not  be  acceptable. 

Sept.          Mr.  Trist  returned  with  this  intelligence,  and  also  that 
5t      contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  armistice,  Santa  Anna  was 
fortifying  the  city,  and  in  other  respects  had  violated  his 
pledges. 

Indignant  at  the  continued  treachery,  General  Scott 
now  ordered  the  army  to  march  upon  the  capital. 

On  the  way  were  two  strong  positions  :  the  one  Molino 
del  Eey,  (the  King's  Mill,)  a  foundry,  where,  it  was  said, 
the  bells  of  the  churches  were  being  rapidly  converted  into 
cannon  ;  near  by  was  the  strong  castle  of  Chapultepec, 

W» 


CAPTURE   OF  MOLING   DEL   KEY. 

which  could  not  be  turned,  but  must  be  taken,  before  the  CHAP. 
city  could  be  reached. 

It  was  resolved  to  capture  Molino  del  Key  ;  and  at  1847. 
three  in  the  morning  General  Worth  sent  forward  the  **tP** 
different  corps  of  his  division  to  commence  the  attack  at 
dawn  of  day.  While  it  was  yet  dark,  the  two  twenty- 
four  pounders  opened  and  sent  their  balls  through  the 
walls  of  masonry.  There  was  no  reply,  and  it  was  thought 
the  Mexicans  had  abandoned  the  building.  Instead,  they 
had  changed  their  position  during  the  night,  and  now  had 
their  guns  in  readiness  to  pour  grape  and  round  shot  upon 
the  flank  of  the  advancing  Americans.  From  the  mani- 
fest preparations,  it  is  thought,  Santa  Anna,  who  was  on 
the  ground,  knew  of  the  intended  attack.  His  advantages 
in  number  and  position  were  great,  and  when  his  guns 
opened,  their  effect  was  terrible.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
front  of  the  American  advance  was  cut  down  ;  of  fourteen 
officers,  eleven  were  either  killed  or  wounded,  and  a  like 
proportion  of  the  men.  The  company  was  forced  to  fall 
back,  and  the  Mexicans,  as  usual,  with  savage  ferocity, 
rushed  out  and  murdered  all  the  wounded  they  could  find. 

Worth  ordered  forward  other  companies,  and  these 
were  seconded  by  another  brigade,  who  vigorously  attacked 
the  Mexican  flank.  Though  exposed  to  a  cross  fire  which 
did  fearful  execution,  these  all  fought  desperately  ;  it  would 
see^n  that  the  idea  of  retreating  from  the  face  of  such 
overwhelming  odds,  never  occurred  to  them  ;  they  held  on 
and  steadily  advanced. 

Presently  General  Leon  himself  headed  a  strong  sortie 
from  the  Molino  del  Eey,  but  it  was  driven  back;  Leon 
was  mortally  wounded,  and  several  officers  of  high  rank 
were  slain.  The  attack  was  continued  in  a  desultory 
manner,  the  assailants  sought  in  various  ways  to  gain 
access  to  the  enemy  ;  they  crept  along  the  sides  and  fired  • 
into  the  apertures,  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  building  and 
tore  down  the  walls  with  their  hands  or  pried  the  stones 


762  HISTOEY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

°5vP'  loose  witk  their  bay°nets-     At  length  they  broke  through 

, the  southern  gate,  and  rushing  in  with  loud  shouts  engaged 

1847.  in  close  combat.  The  Mexicans  did  not  yield,  but  con- 
tinued to  fire  upon  them,  from  the  building  into  the 
courtyards.  The  Americans  burst  open  door  after  door, 
reached  the  roof,  and  with  the  bayonet  met  the  enemy 
hand  to  hand.  In  a  few  minutes  the  north-west  gate  was 
in  like  manner  forced.  A  portion  of  the  Mexicans  held 
out  a  white  flag  in  token  of  surrender,  while  others  made 
their  way  to  Chapultepec. 

This  has  been  deemed  the  hardest  contested  conflict 
of  the  entire  war.  The  enemy  were  in  numbers  three  to 
one,  and  in  a  strong  position.  After  the  commencement 
of  the  attack,  the  Americans  had  scarcely  any  aid  from 
their  heavy  cannon,  but  were  forced  to  depend  upon  their 
rifles  and  muskets.  Still  they  carried  the  place,  and 
captured  eight  hundred  prisoners,  and  lost  themselves 
seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven  killed  and  wounded,  of 
whom  fifty-nine  were  officers — nearly  one-fourth  of  the 
whole  number  engaged  in  the  battle.  The  loss  of  so  many 
brave  men  shed  a  gloom  over  the  entire  army. 

The  Castle  of  Chapultepec  stood  on  a  high  and  preci- 
pitous hill,  very  steep  and  rocky,  on  the  south  side  toward 
the  Americans  ;  on  the  west  the  slope  was  more  gradual, 
but  covered  with   dense  woods   and   rough  with   rodks. 
.Here,  shielded  by  these,  was  a  large  force  of  Mexicans. 

At  the  earliest  dawn  the  full  force  of  the  American 
cannon  was  concentrated  upon  the  walls  of  the  castle, 
Sept.  and  at  the  west  side,  storming  parties  were  waiting  anx- 
iously for  a  breach  to  be  made,  by  which  they  might 
carry  it  by  assault.  They  groped  their  way  from  tree  to 
tree  and  rock  to  rock,  driving  the  Mexicans  before  them, 
when  suddenly,  on  the  crest  of  the  hill,  the  whole  force 
came  out  on  the  open  space  in  the  presence  of  ram- 
parts frowning  with  cannon  and  musketry.  They  ap- 


CASTLE   OF    CHAPULTEPEC   TAKEN.  763 

preached  cautiously,  returning  only  a  few  shots,  but  still  CHAP. 

drawing  nearer  and  nearer.     Presently  an  ensign  bearing  _ 

the  standard  of  his  regiment,  rushed  forward  to  the  ram-  1847. 
part,  a  shout  arose,  and  a  few  followed  with  ladders, 
placed  them  against  the  wall  and  with  a  cheer  bounded 
over.  The  Mexicans,  taken  by  surprise,  stood  but  a  few 
minutes,  then  scrambled  over  the  side  and  down  the 
precipitous  rocks  out  of  danger.  This  was  the  only  in- 
stance during  the  war  where  the  Americans  so  far  forgot 
themselves  as  not  to  cease  their  fire  at  the  submission  of 
the  foe,  and  even  now  it  continued  only  for  a  few  minutes. 
Their  provocations  had  been  great.  Only  a  few  days  be- 
fore, as  on  every  other  occasion,  they  had  seen  their 
wounded  companions,  found  on  the  field  of  battle,  barba- 
rously murdered  by  the  Mexicans.  The  exulting  shouts, 
the  disregard  of  discipline,  which  continued  for  an  hour, 
only  manifested  the  deep  emotions  which  prevailed. 

The  castle  was  a  mass  of  ruins  ;  so  effective  had  been 
the  shots  and  shells,  that  it  was  battered  to  pieces.  Here 
had  been  the  national  military  school,  and  here  the  young 
students  had  bravely  stood  their  ground.  All  of  their 
number,  who  were  not  slain,  were  taken  prisoners,  with  the 
aged  General  Bravo  their  commander. 

While  the  conflict  was  in  progress  General  Quitman 
was  engaged  in  capturing  the  defences  thrown  over  the 
causeways  which  led  through  a  marsh — a  lake  in  the  days 
of  Cortez — to  the  city.  They  were  taken  in  succession  ;^ 
each  one  gave  more  or  less  resistance.  At  nightfall  the 
Mexicans  were  driven  within  the  city,  and  the  Americans 
held  two  of  its  gates. 

At  midnight  commissioners  came  with  propositions  of 
peace,  and  to  surrender  the  city ;  they  stated  that  Santa 
Anna  was  marching  out  with  his  army.  General  Scott 
refused  to  listen  again  to  terms  of  accommodation  ;  when 
his  kindness  of  feeling  had  prompted  him  to  offer  them 
peace,  he  had  been  grossly  deceived.  The  following  morn- 


J* 

764  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


°IJVP'  m&  w^  8*x  t^lousan(l  men?  he  marched  into  the  city, 

drew  up  his  army  upon  the  great  plaza,  and  hoisted  the 

1847.  stars  and  stripes  over  the  National  Palace, 
l^*  For  several  days  the  troops  were  occasionally  fired 
upon  from  windows  and  the  tops  of  houses  ;  the  work,  it 
was  said,  of  convicts,  two  thousand  of  whom  had  just  been 
liberated ;  but  stringent  measures  were  taken  to  insure 
safety. 

Santa  Anna,  with  three  or  four  thousand  troops,  had 
gone  toward  Puebla.  He  devolved  his  authority  upon 
Pena  y  Pena,  the  President  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Justice.  The  other  prominent  Mexicans  went  in  different 
directions. 

Colonel  Childs  had  been  left  in  command  at  Puebla 
with  a  small  garrison,  only  five  hundred  men,  to  protect 
eighteen  hundred  sick  and  disabled  American  soldiers. 
The  Mexicans,  encouraged  by  false  reports  of  success  at 
the  capital,  made  frequent  desultory  attacks  upon  the 
garrison,  but  by  great  exertions  Colonel  Childs  held  them 

Sept.  at  bay  for  nine  days,  when  Santa  Anna,  with  a  remnant 
— some  four  or  five  thousand — of  his  discomfited  army, 
appeared,  and  in  a  pompous  manner  summoned  Childs  to 
surrender.  The  summons  was  disregarded.  The  Mexi- 
can chief  blockaded  the  town  for  seven  days  and  then 
marched  to  intercept  a  train,  on  its  way  from  Vera  Cruz. 
^  General  Lane  was  in  command  of  this  convoy — troops  from 
Taylor's  army,  composed  of  Indiana  and  Ohio  volunteers. 
Santa  Anna  took  position  at  Huamantla,  a  town  some 
miles  north  of  the  main  pass  El  Pinal,  intending  to  attack 
the  Americans  when  they  should  become  entangled  in  the 
defile.  But  Lane  was  not  thus  to  be  entrapped.  He  at 
once  set  out,  surprised  Santa  Anna  himself,  and  compelled 
him,  after  some  loss,  to  abandon  the  town.  The  train 

Q  t  unmolested  moved  on  the  following  day  to  Puebla,  and 
8.  the  garrison,  after  a  month's  siege^  was  relieved. 


TREATY  OF  PEACE  CONCLUDED.  765 

Within  ten  days  it  was  ascertained  that  Santa  Anna  CHAP. 

was  concentrating  another  force  at  Aim).     Lane,  by  a   L 

forced  march,  suddenly  fell  upon  them,  and  dispersed  184T. 
them  beyond  recovery.  Almost  immediately  after  his 
failure  to  prevent  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  Santa 
Anna  resigned  the  presidency  of  the  republic,  but  still 
retained  his  office  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Mexican 
armies.  Now  he  was  mortified  to  receive  a  note  from 
Senor  Kosa,  the  Minister  of  War,  informing  him  that  his 
services  were  no  longer  required  by  the  government,  which 
had  just  been  inaugurated.  He  took  the  hint,  and  was 
soon  on  his  way  to  the  Gulf  Coast,  thence  to  the  West 
Indies  to  be  ere  long  again  engaged  in  intrigues  to  disturb 
his  unfortunate  country 

In  a  few  weeks  after  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico, 
the  seat  of  government  was  removed  to  Queretaro.     Soon 
after  members  for  a  new  Congress  were  elected,  and  that 
body  commenced  its  session.     At  the  town  of  Guadalupe 
Hidalgo,  commissioners  and  Mr.  Trist  were  negotiating  a 
treaty  of  peace.     It  was  concluded  on  the  2d  of  February,    1848> 
and  now  it  only  remained  to  be  ratified  by  the  authorities 
at  Washington  to  formally  close  the  war,  which,  from  the 
battle  of  Palo  Alto  to  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico,    1846 
had  lasted  one  year  and  five  months.  Sept. 

In  this  brief  period,  armies,  of  their  own  free  will,  had  184^ 
flocked  to  the  standard  of  their  country  ;  had  been  organ- 
ized, had  marched  into  a  foreign  land,  dissimilar  to  their 
own  in  climate  and  in  feature,  some  across  deserts  and 
through  districts  infected  with  direful  disease,  others  in 
mid-winter  passed  over  untrodden  mountains,  covered 
with  snow,  and  then  in  turn  over  arid  plains,  and  met 
the  enemy  in  conflict  many  hundreds  of  miles  from  their 
homes,  while  fleets  were  fitted  out,  which  swept  round 
Cape  Horn,  and  were  in  time  to  perform  their  part.  The 
rapidity  with  which  cannon  were  manufactured  and  mu- 


*       766      ^  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAP,  nitions  of  war  prepared  and  transported  to  the  scene  of 

1  action,  was  astonishing. 

1847. 

During  the  time  of  the   occupation  of  the  city  of 

•  Mexico,  difficulties  arose  between  some  of  the  officers  of 
the  army.  From  misunderstandings  hasty  charges  were 
made,  and  recriminations  followed.  Two  of  the  officers, 
Pillow  and  Worth,  made  charges  against  the  General-in- 

r  Chief,  and  he  ordered  them  under  arrest  for  insubordina- 
tion. They  appealed  to  the  War  Department,  and  made 
representations,  in  consequence  of  which  the  venerable 
commander,  who  had  been  a  worthy  leader  from  Lundy's 
Lane  to  Mexico,  was  superseded  by  an  order  from  Wash- 
ington, and  the  temporary  command  given  to  another. 
Subsequently  the  charges  were  virtually  withdrawn,  and 
they  resumed  their  respective  ranks.  It  is  not  expedient 
to  go  into  detail ;  let  the  matter  sink  into  oblivion.  But 
never  before — and  may  it  never  be  again — in  the  history 
of  the  country,  when  its  interests  were  so  deeply  involved, 
did  the  terms  of  "  party,"  democrat  or  whig,  of  "friends " 
or  "  opponents  "  of  the  "  administration,"  have  so  much 
influence. 

Certainly,  in  truth  it  has  been  said,  that  those  who 
served  their  country  well  in  this  war  fared  badly.  Taylor, 
who  was  victorious  from  Palo  Alto  to  Buena  Yista,  was 
quarrelled  with  ;  Scott,  who  marched  triumphant  from 
Yera  Cruz  to  Mexico,  was  superseded  ;  Fremont,  who 
secured  California,  was  court-martialled,  and  Trist,  who 
made  the  treaty,  which  secured  the  objects  of  the  war, 
was  recalled  and  dismissed. 

The  war  had  been  an  unceasing  source  of  disappoint- 
ment to  those  whose  measures  brought  it  on.  Santa 
Anna,  who  was  to  have  been  a  harbinger  of  peace,  had  to 
be  beaten  from  point  to  point,  and  not  until  he  was 
finally  driven  from  power  did  those  of  his  countrymen, 
who  were  in  favor  of  an  amicable  arrangement,  dare  to  act. 


DISCOVERY   OF    GOLD   IN    CALIFORNIA 


767 


When  the  commissioners,  appointed  by  the  President  CHAP. 

to  supersede  Trist,  arrived  at  Mexico,  they  found  the  treaty  L 

negotiated  and  signed  by  the  parties.  In  substance  it  was  1848. 
the  same  that  had  been  prepared  by  the  Cabinet.  When 
brought  to  Washington  it  was  at  once  laid  before  the 
Senate,  and  after  a  short  discussion  ratified.  The  Presi- 
dent by  proclamation,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1848,  made 
known  to  the  nation  that  the  war  was  at  an  end,  anct  a 
satisfactory  treaty  had  been  concluded. 

New  Mexico  and  Upper  California  were  ceded  to  the 
United  States,  and  the  lower  Kio  Grande,  from  its  mouth 
to  El  Paso,  was  taken  as  the  boundary  of  Texas.  Mexico 
was  to  receive  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  ;  the  claims  of 
American  citizens  against  her — amounting  to  three  and  a 
quarter  millions  of  dollars — were  assumed  by  the  United 
States.  In  a  few  months  not  an  American  soldier  was  on 
Mexican  soil. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1845,  the  annexation  of  Texas 
was  consummated  ;  and  thus  within  three  years  a  territory 
four  times  as  large  as  France,  had  been  added  to  the 
United  States — regions  hitherto  imperfectly  known,  but 
having  in  store  the  elements  of  great  wealth. 

At  the  very  time  that  the  commissioners  were  nego- 
tiating the  treaty,  a  laborer  engaged  at  work  upon  a  mill- 
race  belonging  to  Captain  Sutter,  on  one  of  the  tributaries 
of  the  Sacramento  river,  noticed  in  the  sand  some  shining 
particles.  They  proved  to  be  gold.  By  the  time  the 
treaty  was  ratified  rumors  of  the  discovery  reached  the 
United  States.  The  excitement  produced  was  unprece- 
dented. In  a  short  time  thousands  were  on  their  way  to 
the  land  of  gold.  Every  means  of  conveyance  was  called 
into  requisition,  from  the  emigrant's  pack-horse  and  wagon, 
to  the  sailing-vessel  and  the  steam-ship.  Some  went  in 
caravans  over  the  plains  and  the  Kocky  Mountains ; 
some  crossed  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  found  their 
way  up  the  Pacific  coast ;  others  took  ship  and  passed 


"768  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


round  Cape  Horn.     The  sufferings  of  the  great  majority 

of  these  adventurers  were  intense  ;  hundreds  of  them  met 

1848.  untimely  deaths  on  the  waj-,  or  by  disease,  privations,  and 
improvidence,  when  they  reached  their  journey's  end. 
The  ferment  extended  throughout  the  civilized  world. 
Multitudes  of  gold-seekers  were  soon  on  their  way  from 
the  different  countries  of  Europe  and  South  America,  and 
even  distant  China  sent  her  thousands.  The  tide  of  im- 
migration was  directed  to  SAN  FRANCISCO,  which,  from  a 
miserable  village  of  a  few  huts,  soon  became  a  city  of  fifteen 
f  1859.  thousand  inhabitants,  now  to  have  more  than  five  times 
'•  that  number,  and  to  be  the  great  entrepot  of  the  Pacific. 
The  influence  of  this  discovery  of  gold  mines,  has  been 
incalculable  in  its  effects,  not  merely  upon  the  United 
States,  but  has  extended  to  other  nations.  "  It  touched 
the  nerves  of  industry  throughout  the  world,"  infused  new 
life  into  commerce,  and  awakened  a  spirit  of  adventure  and 
individual  exertion  never  before  known. 

Feb.  On  the  21st  of  February,  the  venerable  John  Quincy 

21t  Adams,  when  in  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives, 
was  struck  by  paralysis.  Two  days  later  he  expired.  His 
last  words  were,  ee  This  is  the  last  of  earth  : — I  am  con- 
tent." Born  in  revolutionary  times  :  "  The  cradle  hymns 
of  the  child  were  the  songs  of  liberty."  He  had  associated 
with  the  fathers  of  the  republic,  and  was  the  representa- 
tive of  the  memories  of  that  heroic  age.  For  more  than 
sixty  years  he  had  been  constantly  engaged  in  public 
affairs.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  private  secretary  to 
Francis  Dana,  American  minister  to  Eussia  ;  at  twenty- 
seven  appointed  minister  to  Holland  by  Washington, 
who  styled  him  "  the  ablest  of  all  our  diplomatic  corps." 
Afterward  successively,  United  States  Senator ;  profes- 
sor in  Harvard  College  ;  minister  to  Eussia  ;  one  of  the 
negotiators  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent  ;  Secretary  of  State 
under  Monroe  ;  President,  and  then  member  of  the  House 
«till  his  death,  at  the  age  of  fourscore.  Old  in  years  but 


*  *Jf,  v* 

THE   WILMOT   PROVISO.     .    ^    *  «  769 

buoyant  in  spirit,  he  never  lagged  behind  his  age  ;  but  CHAP. 

with  careful  eye  watched  the  progress  of  his  country,  and  1 

sympathized  with  its  youthful  energies.          .  1848.       ^J  j. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Polk  was  drawing  to  a 
close.  Its  great  event  had  been  the  Mexican  war,  the 
train  for  which  was  laid  under  his  predecessor.  The 
tariff  of  1842,  under  which  the  industry  of  the  country 
had  rapidly  recovered  from  its  prostration,  after  an  ex- 
istence of  four  years  was  so  modified,  as  to  afford  less  pro-  184^! 
tection  to  American  manufactures. 


David  Wilmot,  a  member  of  the  House  from  Penn- 
sylvania, introduced  a  proposition  into  Congress,  since 
known  as  the  "  Wilmot  Proviso,"  by  which  slavery  should 
be  prohibited  in  all  territory  obtained  by  treaty.  The 
"Proviso"  did  not  become  a  law,  but  the  subject  of 
slavery  was  once  more  brought  up  for  discussion. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  at  Baltimore  to  nomi- 
nate  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  President.  Two  sets  of 
delegates  appeared  from  New  York,  both  claiming  to  be 
the  true  representatives  of  the  Democracy  of  that  State. 

No  compromise  could  reconcile  the  parties,  and  the  con- 
vention solved  the  difficulty  by  excluding  both  from  its 
deliberations.  It  then  proceeded  to  nominate  Senator 
Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  for  President,  and  General 
William  0.  Butler,  of  Kentucky,  for  Yice-President. 

The  delegates  representing  the  Whig  party,  and  those 
opposed  to  the  measures  of  the  administration,  met  at 
Philadelphia,  and  nominated  General  Zachary  Taylor  for 
President,  and  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York,  for  Yice- 
President.  Ju!ne 

One  portion  of  the  Democracy  of  New  York  accepted 
the  nominations  of  the  Baltimore  convention  ;  another 
portion  rejected  them.  The  latter  called  a  convention, 
at  Buffalo  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  the  extension  gf 
slavery  into  free  territory.  They  adopted  a  platform  in* 
49 


*  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

% 


CHAR  favor  of  "  Free  Soil/'  and  nominated  ex-president  Van 
_  '_  Buren  for  the  Presidency  and  Charles  Francis  Adams 
'  «  '     1848.    (son  of  John  Quincy  Adams)  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 

s*          A  spirited  canvass  followed,  and  the  candidates  of 
the  Whig  party  were  elected. 

During  the  last  year  of  this  administration,  Wisconsin 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State,  and  Minnesota 
organized  as  a  Territory. 

A  new  Department,  that  of  the  Interior,  was  created 
by  Congress,  to  relieve  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of 
part  of  his  duties. 

On  the  fifth  of  March,  the  fourth  occurring  on  the 
Sabbath,  the  new  President  was  inducted  into  office. 

Mr.  Polk,  broken  down  in  health,  retired  to  his  home 
in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  in  a  few  months  he  was 
June,   numbered  with  the  dead.     A  man  of  exemplary  char- 
acter ;  he  was  lamented  by  the  people. 


FT 

I 

l 

» 


Ai 


* 

* 


CHAPTEK    LV. 

TAYLOR  AND  FILLMORE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Discussion  on  Slavery. — Wilmot  Proviso. — The  Powers  of  the  Constitution ; 
their  Application  in  the  Territories. — Thirty-first  Congress. — President's 
Message ;  its  Recommendations. — Debate  on  the  Omnibus  Bill. — Death 
of  Calhoun. — Death  of  President  Taylor. — Fillmore  Inaugurated. — 
The  Fugitive  Slave  Law. — The  Mormons  ;  their  Origin ;  Troubles ; 
Settlement  in  Utah. — A  Disunion  Convention. — Lopez  invades  Cuba. — 
The  Search  for  Sir  John  Franklin. — Dr.  E.  K.  Kane. — Death  of  Henry 
Clay;  of  Daniel  Webster. — The  Tripartite  Treaty. — Presidential 
Election. 

GENERAL  Zachary  Taylor  was  a  native  of  Virginia  ;  but  CHAP. 

when  he  was  very  young,  his  father  removed  to  Kentucky,  — 

and  on  the  frontiers  of  that  State  he  spent  his  youth  as  a  1849. 
farmer.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  received  a  com- 
mission in  the  army  from  President  Jefferson,  and  en-  isos. 
tered  upon  a  career  more  congenial  to  his  tastes  than  cul- 
tivating the  soil.  For  forty  years  he  was  in  the  military 
service  of  his  country  ;  his  sphere  of  duty  was  on  the 
frontiers  ;  and  thus  situated  he  had  never  even  voted 
at  an  election.  Honest  and  frank,  blest  with  common 
sense  and  firmness  of  purpose,  he  was  withal  unselfish 
and  patriotic,  and  uncontaminated  with  political  intrigues. 
His  inaugural  address  on  taking  the  office  of  President, 
was  brief,  and  confined  to  a  declaration  of  general  prin- 
ciples. His  cabinet,  at  the  head  of  which  was  John 
M.  Clayton  of  Delaware,  was  at  once  confirmed  by  the 
Senate. 


772  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

°LVP'          ^ne  question  of  slavery  had  appeared  under  different 

phases.     For  twelve  years  after  the  passage  of  the  Mis- 

1820.  souri  Compromise,  the  subject  had  not  been  agitated  in 
Congress,  but  now  attention  was  dra^n  to  it  by  the  pre- 
sentation of  memorials,  praying  that  body  to  abolish  the 
slave-trade  and  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Meantime  others,  who  looked  upon  the  system  as  an  evil 

«to  be  remedied  at  all  hazards,  sent  through  the  mail  to 
32.    the   South  publications,  addressed   to   the  slave-owners 
themselves,  and  designed  to  influence  them  in  favor  of 
emancipation  ;  but   there  were  others  who  sent  papers 
that  contained   engravings   by  no   means  calculated   to 
make  the  slave  contented  with  his  lot.     The  fear  was 
great  lest  the  latter  might  become  the  occasion  of  insur- 
•     rections  and  blood-shed.     President  Jackson  recommended 

1835.  to  Congress  to  pass  a  law  prohibiting  the  use  of  the  mail 
for  the  circulation  of  "  incendiary  publications."     But  the 
bill  to  that  effect  did  not  become  a  law.     The  excitement 
was  great,  both  North  and  South  :  in  the  former  sometimes 
developing  itself  in  violent  measures  against  the  abolition- 
ists ;  in  the  latter,  some  broke  into  the  post-offices  and 
destroyed  the  obnoxious  papers,  and  others  raised  the  cry 
of  disunion,  while,  so  embittered,  had  the  feeling  become 

1836.  m  Congress,  that  for  a  time  memorials  on  the  subject 
would  not  be  received. 

Now  the  slavery  agitation  was  a  legacy  left  by  the 
previous  administration — a  question  which  overshadowed 
all  others,  and  almost  exclusively  engaged  the  attention 
1846.  °f  Congress  and  the  nation.  Three  years  before  the  Wil- 
mot  Proviso  had  initiated  the  discussion,  which  was  fast 
acquiring  a  tone  of  bitterness  hitherto  unknown.  The 
contents  of  the  newspapers  showed  that  the  question  had 
penetrated  into  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  land — in 
social  circles  and  in  the  retirement  of  the  fireside — all 
were  alive  to  the  importance  of  the  subject  at  issue  ;  the 


ifc*  - 

t 


DISCUSSION    ON   THE    EXTENSION   OF    SLAVERY.  773 

emotions  of  a  nation  swayed  in  the  storm  of  clashing  CHAP. 
opinions. 

1849. 

The  annexation  of  Texas  and  the  consequent  war  with 
Mexico,  came  to  be  looked  upon  as  designed  to  further 
the  interests  of  slavery,  and  to  commit  the  nation  to  the 
policy  of  extending  that  system.  Those  opposed  to  such 
measures  endeavored  to  counteract  them  by  means  of  the  ^ 
Proviso,  but  that  had  failed  to  receive  the  sanction  of 
Congress.  With  the  exception  of  Texas  proper,  it  was 
uncertain  whether  the  newly-acquired  territories  would 
admit  slavery  ;  the  indications  were  that  they  would  re- 
ject it.  And  this  feature  of  the  controversy  gave  rise  to 
another  question  ;  how  to  introduce  the  system  into  free 
territory.  Would  Congress  subvert  the  law  of  Mexico, 
which  had  long  since  prohibited  human  bondage  within 
her  limits  ?  That  body  never  at  any  time  had  interfered 
with  slavery  as  existing  in  the  States,  neither  had  it 
directly  legislated  it  into  free  territory  :  the  policy  had 
rather  been  not  to  interfere  with  the  inhabitants  in  de- 
ciding the  question  for  themselves. 

The  last  Congress,  absorbed  in  the  turmoil  of  the  dis- 
cussion, had  dissolved  without  providing  governments  for 
the  territories.  To  remedy  this  evil,  President  Taylor  in- 
structed the  Federal  officers  in  these  territories  to  en- 
courage the  people  to  organize  temporary  governments  for 
themselves. 

President  Polk  in  his  last  message  had  recommended 
that  the  Missouri  Compromise  line  of  thirty-six  degrees 
thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  be  extended  to  the  Pacific, 
and  thus  leave  the  territory  south  of  that  line  liable  to  be 
made  slaveholding.  Motions  to  that  effect  failed  in  Con- 
gress. That  line  had  been  adopted  for  the  Louisiana 
territory  alone,  which  was  slave,  and  it  made  one  side  free, 
but  if  it  was  produced  to  the  Pacific  it  would  pass  through 
free  territory,  and  therefore  make  one  side  slave. 


774  HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

*  jjK  «. 

CHAP.  The  advocates  of  the  system  contended  that  they  had 
L  a  right  to  go  into  any  of  the  territories  and  take  with  them 

1819.  their  property,  meaning  slaves.  That  was  admitted,  but 
only  under  the  laws  of  Congress,  which  so  far  protected 
such  property,  but  it  was  denied  that  the  slaveholder 
could  carry  with  him  the  municipal  law  of  the  State  from 
which  he  emigrated,  any  more  than  the  emigrant  from  a 
free  State  could  take  with  him  its  peculiar  laws. 

< 

The  same  object  was  sought  by  attempting  to  "  ex- 
tend the  constitution  of  the  United  States  to  the  terri- 
tories," and  this  under  the  form  of  an  amendment  attached 
to  the  general  appropriation  bill,  providing  a  temporary 
-:  government  for  the  ceded  territories,  and  extending  to 
them  certain  acts  of  Congress.  The  proposition  elicited 
a  discussion  in  which  Calhoun  and  Webster  each  took 
part.  The  former  argued  that  the  Constitution  recog- 
nized slavery  ;  that  it  was  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  ; 
therefore  it  was  superior  to  every  law  in  opposition  to 
slavery,  not  only  overriding  any  territorial  law  to  that 
effect,  but  even  superior  to  any  law  of  Congress  designed 
to  abolish  it  ;  and  that  the  property  of  the  South,  mean- 
ing slaves,  would  thus  be  protected  by  the  Constitution 
in  the  territories  into  which  Calhoun  openly  avowed  his 
intention  to  thus  carry  the  institution  of  slavery.  "  The 
Constitution,"  said  he,  "  pronounces  itself  to  be  the  su- 
preme law  of  the  land  ; "  the  States  as  well  as  the  Ter- 
ritories. 

Mr.  Webster  replied  that  the  Constitution  was  made 

\^  for  the  States  and  not  for  the  Territories  ;  that  Congress 

governed  the  latter  independently  of  the  Constitution, 

and  often  contrary  to  it,  and  was  constantly  doing  things 

in  the  Territories  that  it  could  not  do  in  the  States  ;  and 

that  the  Constitution  could  not  operate  of  itself  in  the 

Territories.     "  When  new  territory  has  been  acquired," 

«    said  he,  "  it  has  always  been  subject  to  the  laws  of  Con- 

• 


THE   POWERS    OF    THE    CONSTITUTION.  775 


gress,  to  such  laws  as  Congress  thought  proper  to  pass  for  CHAP. 
its  immediate  government  and  preparatory  state  in  which  _  L 
it  was  to  remain  until  it  was  ready  to  come  into  the    1849. 
Union  as  one  of  the  family  of  States."     He  quoted  the 
Constitution  itself,  which  declares  that  "  it  and  the  laws 
of  Congress  passed  under  it  shall  be  the  supreme  law  o 
the  land."     Thus  it  required  a  definite  law  of  Congress 
to  establish  slavery  in  the  Territories  under  the  Constitu- 
tion, as  shown  by  the  words  of  that  instrument  itself. 

The  amendment  failed  in  both  houses  ;  but  it  became 
the  germ  of  another  doctrine,  that  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  independently  of  an  act  of  Congress,  but 
in  spite  of  it,  not  only  goes  of  itself  to  the  territories  but 
carries  with  it  a  shield  protecting  slavery. 

During  this  session  of  Congress  meetings  were  held  at 
Washington,  attended  by  a  majority  of  the  members  of 
Congress  from  the  slave-holding  States,  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  measures  best  adapted  to  secure  southern 
rights. 

They  published  an  Address  to  the  people  of  the  South. 
It  was  drawn  up  by  Calhoun,  and  by  no  means  was  it 
conciliatory  in  its  tone  and  sentiments,  and  for  that 
reason  it  failed  to  enlist  in  its  favor  all  the  delegates  from 
the  South.  In  truth  it  became  a  party  measure.  Only 
forty  members,  all  from  the  slaveholding  States,  signed 
their  names  to  the  Address  :  of  these,  thirty-eight  belonged 
to  the  Democratic  party. 

This  manifesto  was  soon  followed  by  a  Southern  Con- 
vention to  dissolve  the  Union.  The  Legislatures  of  two 
of  the  States,  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi,  issued  a 
call  for  a  "  Southern  Congress,"  to  frame  a  government 
for  a  "  United  States  .j&uth." 

The  agitation  was  not  limited  to  the  South  ;  the 
North  was  as  busily  engaged  in  canvassing  the  exciting 
question,  and  both  parties  were  summoning  their  energies 
for  the  conflict  in  the  new  Congress  about  to  meet. 


*ttkyie 

froi 


776  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

I 

CHAP.         The  thirty-first  Congress,  called  a  month  earlier  than 

the  usual  time,  met  in  its  first  session.     Parties  were 

1849.  nearly  equally  divided.  The  House  spent  three  weeks, 
X3°v*  and  balloted  sixty  times  for  a  speaker,  and  only  succeeded 
by  changing  the  rule  by  which  a  majority  of  the  whole  is 
required  to  elect,  to  that  of  a  plurality.  Mr.  C.  Ho  well 
Cobb,  of  Georgia,  was  elected  ;  his  competitor  was  Mr. 
Kobert  C.  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts. 

The  first  and  only  annual  message  of  President  Taylor 
wa,s  sent  in.  He  saw  the  difficulties  which  lay  in  his 
path.  The  bitterness  of  party  had  been  increased  by 
sectional  feelings.  The  President  felt  the  responsibility 
of  his  position  ;  but  he  fearlessly  yet  temperately  gave  his 
views,  and  plainly  intimated  that  he  should  not  shrink 
m  his  duty  to  the  Union  itself ;  deprecated  sectional 
controversies,  and  referred  to  Washington  in  confirmation 
of  this  sentiment. 

The  points  at  issue  were  various,  and  he  recommended 
a  plan  to  settle  each.  As  California3  whose  population 
had  increased  so  rapidly,  had  framed  a  Constitution,  he 
advised  that  she  should  be  at  once  admitted  into  the 
Union  ;  that  New  Mexico  and  Utah  should  be  organized 
as  territories,  and  when  they  were  prepared  to  come  into 
the  Union  as  States,  be  permitted  to  decide  the  question 
of  slavery  for  themselves  ;  and  that  the  dispute  between 
Texas  and  New  Mexico,  in  relation  to  their  boundaries, 
should  be  settled  by  the  judicial  authority  of  the  United 
States. 

Early  in  the  session  Henry  Clay  moved  in  the  Senate 

*  i^a  series  of  resolutions  designed  to  settle  these  disputes  by 

*a  compromise.     A  committee  of  thirteen  was  appointed, 

to  whom  these  resolutions  and  the  various  plans  which 

had  been  proposed  were  referred.  -In  due  time  Mr.  Clay, 

as  chairman,  reported.     The  spirit  of  the  resolutions  was 

combined  in  one  measure,  which,  from  its  character  and 

the  dissimilar  objects  it  was  designed  to  accomplish,  was 


m 


, 


DISCUSSION    ON    THE    COMPROMISE   BILL.  777 

*~9  ~"      i^itt 
styled  the  Omnibus  Bill.     It  proposed  the  admission  of  CHAP. 

California  j  the  organization,  without  mention  of  slavery, 


of  the  territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Utah  ;  the  arrange-    1849. 
ment  of  the  Texas  boundary,  by  paying  the  latter  ten  ^ 
millions  of  dollars  ;  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in  the 
District   of  Columbia,   and   the   enactment   of    a  more 
stringent  fugitive  slave  law. 

Senator  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  insisted  that  1850. 
the  bill  was  not  equal  in  its  provisions,  because  the  South 
gained  nothing  by  the  measure  ;  and  he  urged  that  the 
Missouri  line  of  compromise  should  be  extended  to  the 
Pacific,  "  with  the  specific  recognition  of  the  right  to  hold 
slaves  in  the  Territory  below  that  line." 

To  this  Clay  replied,  that  "  no  earthly  power  could 
induce  him  to  vote  for  a  specific  measure  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  slavery  where  it  had  not  existed,  either  north  or 
south  of  that  line."  "  I  am  unwilling,"  continued  he, 
"  that  the  posterity  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  Califor- 
nia and  of  New  Mexico  should  reproach  us  for  doing  just 
what  we  reproach  Great  Britain  for  doing  to  us."  "  If 
the  citizens  of  those  Territories  come  here  with  Constitu- 
tions establishing  slavery,  I  am  for  admitting  them  into 
the  Union ;  but  then  it  will  be  their  own  work  and  not 
ours,  and  their  posterity  will  have  to  reproach  them  and 
not  us." 

Calhoun,  now  near  to  death,  in  a  speech  read  by  a  - 
friend,  urged  that  if  the  Union  would  be  preserved,  it 
must  be  by  an  equal  number  of  slave  and  free  States,  to 
maintain  the  number  of  senators  equal  in  the  Senate. 

"  The  incurability  of  the  evil,"  said  Senator  Benton,  ' 
of  Missouri,  "  is  the  greatest  objection."  "  It  is  a  ques- 
tion of  races,  involving  consequences  which  go  to  the 
destruction  of  one  or  the  other  ;  this  was  seen  fifty  years 
ago,  and  the  wisdom  of  Virginia  balked  at  it  then.  It 
seems  to  be  above  human  reason.  But  there  is  a  wisdom 


.  f -^  -       .  * 

*778  HISTOKY  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


CHAP,  above  human  !  and  to  that  we  must  look.     In  the  mean- 

1_  time  not  extend  the  evil." 

1849.          Soon  after  this  occurred  the  death  of  John  C.  Calhoun. 

^He   first   entered  Congress  in  1811,  and  during  almost 

forty  years  had  filled  various  offices  in  the  service  of  his 

country.     A  man  of  primitive  tastes  and  simple  manners, 

uniting  the  kindliest  of  feelings  with  unflinching  integrity, 

and  devotion  to  duty.     The  latter  portion  of  his  public 

career  was  marked  by  the  most  strenuous  advocacy  of 

31/     States'  rights  and  Southern  institutions. 

A  few  months  later  President  Taylor  was  also  num- 
bered with  the  dead.  He  suddenly  became  ill  with  a 
violent  fever,  which  terminated  his  life  in  a  few  days,  after 
97'  he  had  held  oifice  sixteen  months.  He  had  shown  him- 
self equal  to  the  emergency  ;  and  his  death  was  a  public 
calamity  indeed.  Though  elected  by  one  party,  his  policy 
and  acts  were  approved  by  all,  and  the  whole  nation 
mourned  his  loss. 


MILLARD   FILLMORE. 

The  Vice-President,  on  the  10th  of  July,  took  the 
.oath,  and  was  inaugurated  as  President.  It  was  done 
without  show  or  parade  ;  merely  a  joint  committee  of 
three  from  each  House  of  Congress,  and  the  members  of 
the  cabinet,  attended  him.  The  oath  was  administered 
by  the  venerable  William  Cranch,  Chief  Justice  of  the 

uit  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  who,  appointed 
>y  John  Adams,  had  held  the  office  for  fifty  years.     Not 
Ian  unnecessary  word  was  spoken  ;  the  ceremony  was  one 
of  deep  solemnity. 

The  first  official  act  of  Mr.  Fillmore  was  to  call  upon 
Congress  to  take  suitable  measures  for  the  funeral  of  the 
late  President,  "  who  had  been  so  recently  raised  by  the 
unsolicited  voice  of  the  people  to  the  highest  civil  authority 


4  . 


%• 

ADMISSION    OF    CALIFORNIA.  779 

4 

in  the  government."     An  impressive  funeral  service  was  CHAP 

performed,  and  eulogies  pronounced  upon  him  by  many  of  1_ 

the  leading  statesmen  of  the  country.     The  Cabinet  re-    1850. 
signed,  and  the  President  nominated  another,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  Daniel  Webster  as  Secretary  of  State. 

Four  months  had  nearly  elapsed  since  Henry  Clay 
reported  his  Compromise  Bill.  Its  provisions  had  been 
thoroughly  discussed  by  the  members  of  both  Houses.  It 
was  then  taken  up  article  by  article  and  passed — the  last 
the  Fugitive  Slave  law.  The  similar  law  which  had  been  Sept. 
enacted  in  1787,  as  part  of  the  ordinance  prohibiting 
slavery  in  the  Territory  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  and  also 
a  law  to  the  same  effect  passed  during  Washington's  ad- 
ministration, were  thought  to  be  defective,  and  a  new  one 
was  framed. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  held  the 
opinion  that  justices  of  the  peace  in  the  respective  States, 
were  not  called  upon  to  enforce  the  law  for  the  rendition 
of  slaves.  Since  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  in 
Congress,  a  dislike  to  enforcing  that  law  had  greatly  in- 
creased in  the  free  States.  The  feeling  reached  the 
Legislatures  and  some  of  them,  by  law,  prohibited  the  use 
of  their  jails  for  the  confinement  of  fugitive  slaves,  and 
the  justices  of  the  peace  refused  to  act  on  the  subject. 
To  obviate  the  latter  difficulty  the  present  bill  provided 
for  the  appointment  of  United  States'  commissioners, 
before  whom  such  cases  could  be  tried. 

When  the  vote  on  the  reception  of  California  was 
taken,  and  she  admitted  to  the  Union,  her  senators,  Wm. 
M.  Gwin  and  John  C.  Fremont,  who  had  been  in  waiting,  »>% 
immediately  took  their  seats. 

The  vast  region  known  as  Utah,  was  in  the  possession 
of  the  Indians  and  the  Mormons  or  Latter  Day  Saints,  a 
religious  sect.  It  was  founded  by  Joseph  Smith,  a  native 
of  Vermont,  but  at  that  time  a  resident  of  Central  New  1827. 


hrorv 

780  HISTOKY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


York ;  illiterate  and  superstitious,  cunning  and  unprin- 

cipled  ;  when  a  youth  he  loved  to  dupe  his  companions  ; 

1850.  at  the  age  of  fifteen  he  pretended  that  he  had  seen  visions  ; 
^  and  at  twenty-two  that  he  had  received  a  direct  revelation 
from  heaven  ;  that  he  had  been  directed  to  a  certain  hill, 
where  he  would  find  golden  plates,  covered  with  Egyptian 
characters,  which  he  alone,  as  a  prophet,  was  empowered 
to  decipher.  This  was  the  famous  "  Book  of  Mormon." 
It  professed  to  give  a  new  system  of  religion,  and  to 
chronicle  events  which  occurred  on  this  continent  long  an- 
terior to  the  Christian  era. 

It  is  said  a  man  named  Spaulding,  when  laboring 
under  ill  health  wrote  the  story  to  alleviate  his  hours  of 
ennui  ;  after  his  death  the  manuscript  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Smith,  who  unscrupulously  used  it  to  deceive  his  fel- 
low-men. 

His  system  of  polygamy  led  to  gross  immoralities  ; 
and  the  vicious,  as  well  as  the  ignorant,  some  of  whom 
may  have  been  honest,  became  his  disciples.  In  five 

1833.  years  he  had  twelve  hundred  followers.  At  this  time  the 
whole  sect  removed  to  Jackson  county,  Missouri.  As 
they  professed  to  be  the  true  saints,  by  virtue  of  which 
they  were  to  become  the  inheritors  of  the  western  country, 
they  became  objects  of  distrust  to  the  Missourians.  The 
militia  were  called  out,  but  the  Mormons  avoided  a  con- 

1840.    flict  by  crossing  the  river  to  Illinois. 

They  prepared  to  make  that  State  their  home.  On  a 
bluff,  overlooking  the  Mississippi,  they  founded  a  city, 
Nauvoo,  and  erected  an  imposing  temple.  Thefts  and 
robberies  were  numerous  in  the  vicinity,  and  these  crimes 
were  attributed  to  the  Mormons,  some  of  whom  were 
arrested.  The  saints,  it  was  said,  controlled  the  courts;  for 
the  prisoners  were  speedily  liberated.  An  intense  excite- 
ment was  produced  in  the  country  by  these  proceedings. 
At  length  the  Prophet  himself,  and  a  brother,  were  ar- 
rested and  thrown  into  prison  in  the  town  of  Carthage. 


I 

SALT    LAKE    CITY — DISUNION   CONVENTION.  "781 

A  mob  collected  a  few  days  after,  and  in  the  melee  the  CHAP. 

brothers  were  slain.     The  spirit  aroused  against  them  was  L 

so  violent  that  the  Mormons  could  find  safety  alone  in  1844. 
flight,  and  the  following  year  they  sold  their  possessions, 
left  their  beautiful  city,  which  contained  ten  thousand  in- 
habitants, and  under  chosen  elders  emigrated  away  across 
the  plains  and  over  the  Kocky  Mountains,  and  finally 
found  a  resting  place  in  the  Great  Basin.  As  they  were 
now  upon  the  soil  of  Mexico,  they  hoped  their  troubles 
were  at  an  end.  They  significantly  called  their  new 
home,  Deseret — the  land  of  the  Honey  Bee.  To  recruit 
their  numbers  they  sent  missionaries  to  every  quarter  of 
the  globe  ;  that  these  zealous  apostles  have  met  with 
astonishing  success  in  obtaining  proselytes,  is  a  sad  JLM 
reflection. 

Meantime  they  labored  with  great  zeal  in  founding  a 
city  on  the  shores  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  It  is  on  ground 
four  thousand  three  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
ocean,  and  planned  on  a  large  scale  ;  its  streets  eight 
rods  wide,  and  every  house  surrounded  by  a  garden. 

Presently  came  the  war  with  Mexico,  and  the  ceding 
of  all  that  region  to  the  United  States.  The  Mormons 
were  the  first  to  organize  themselves  as  a  territory  under 
the  name  of  Deseret,  but  Congress  saw  proper  to  change 
the  name  to  Utah.  President  Fillmore  appointed  Brigham 
Young,  one  of  their  elders,  the  first  governor.  1850. 

After  the  passage  of  the  Compromise  Bill,  the  agita- 
tion by  no  means  ceased  in  the  south.  The  design  of  £ 
seceding  from  the  Union  was  openly  avowed.  A  Disunion 
Convention  met  at  Nashville,  Tennessee.  It  invited  the 
assembling  of  a  "  Southern  Congress,"  but  the  legislatures 
of  only  two  States  responded  to  the  call — South  Carolina 
and  Mississippi.  The  former  elected  their  quota  of  repre- 
sentatives to  the  Congress.  The  great  mass  of  the  people 
were  moved  but  little  by  these  appeals,  and  the  country 


782  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


breathed  more  freely  in  the  confident  belief  that  the  vexed 
question  was  really  at  rest. 


1850.  In  no  previous  discussion  of  the  subject  did  the  great 
majority  of  the  people  of  the  Union  manifest  so  much 
interest,  not  because  it  had  become  more  important,  but 
a  great  change  had  been  wrought,  since,  thirty  years  be- 
fore, the  country  was  agitated  by  the  discussions,  which 
led  to  the  enactment  of  the  Missouri  Compromise.  The 
number  of  newspapers  had  increased  at  an  unprecedented 
rate,  and  with  them  the  facilities  for  publishing  general 
intelligence  and  reporting  the  debates  in  Congress,  and 
now  was  added  the  telegraph,  which  seemed  almost  to 
bring  the  ears  of  the  nation  to  the  Halls  of  Legislation. 
Yet  in  a  still  greater  proportion  had  the  numbers  of  in- 
telligent readers  increased,  millions  of  whom  became 
familiar  with  the  question  and  the  principles  involved, 
and  watched  with  increasing  interest  every  new  phase  the 
subject  assumed.  This  may  account  for  the  earnestness 
which  characterized  this  conflict  of  opinions  ;  the  mass  of 
the  people  read  and  judged  for  themselves.  The  philan- 
thropist may  not  dread  the  response  of  their  hearts  ;  —  they 
may  be  slow  to  act,  but  they  are  untrammelled  by  pledges 
and  uninfluenced  by  political  aspirations. 

About  the  commencement  of  Taylor's  administration, 
General  Lopez,  a  Spaniard,  endeavored  to  create  a  revo- 
lution in  Cuba.  He  represented  that  the  people  of  that 
island  were  anxious  and  prepared  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of 
the  mother  country  ;  and  by  this  means  he  persuaded  large 
numbers  of  adventurous  spirits  in  the  United  States  to 
engage  in  the  enterprise.  The  pretext  was  to  aid  the 
Cubans  ;  but  the  real  object  was  to  secure  the  annexation 
of  the  island  to  the  United  States.  President  Taylor 
promptly  issued  a  proclamation  forbidding  citizens  of  the 
Union  to  engage  in  the  expedition.  The  warning  was 
unheeded,  and  a  company  of  six  hundred  men,  under  the 


. 


SIR   JOHN    FRANKLIN — DR.    E.    K.    KANE.  783 


lead  of  Lopez,  eluded  the  United  States'  authorities,  and  CHAP. 

landed  at  Cardenas.     But  not  meeting  with  sympathy  L 

from  the  people  whom  they  professed  to  have  come  to    1850. 
liberate,  they  re-embarked,  and  sailed  for  Key  West,    ^y 
Florida,  barely  escaping  capture  on  the  way  by  a  Spanish 
steam- vessel  of  war. 

The  following  year  the  attempt  was  renewed.  A  party 
of  four  hundred  and  eighty  men  landed  on  the  island,  but 
were  almost  immediately  overpowered  and  captured. 
Lopez  and  a  number  of  his  deluded  followers  were  put  to 
death  by  the  Spanish  authorities  at  Havana. 

In  1845,  Sir  John  Franklin  sailed  from  England  in 
quest  of  the  long  sought  for  north-west  passage.  No  tid- 
ings had  ever  been  received  from  him,  and  the  several 
efforts  to  send  him  aid  had  been  unsuccessful.  The  sym- 
pathies of  the  humane  were  enlisted  in  behalf  of  the  daring 
navigator.  Mr.  Henry  Grinnell,  a  noble-hearted  New 
York  merchant,  fitted  out,  at  his  own  expense,  an  expedi- 
tion which,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  De  Haven, 
of  the  United  States7  navy,  sailed  for  the  Arctic  regions 
in  May,  1850.  With  De  Haven  went  Dr.  E.  K.  Kane, 
in  the  capacity  of  surgeon  and  naturalist.  The  search 
was  unsuccessful,  and  the  vessels  returned. 

The  United  States'  Government  now  sent  another  1851. 
expedition  on  the  same  errand  of  mercy  in  connection 
with  Mr.  Grinnell.  The  control  of  this  was  given  to  Dr. 
Kane,  whose  scientific  attainments  were  of  a  high  order, 
and  whose  prudence  and  indomitable  energy  excited  high 
hopes  of  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  The  search  was  t 
fruitless  ;  the  results  of  the  discoveries  made  have  been 
embodied  and  given  to  the  world.  Sir  John  has  no  doubt 
long  since  perished,  while  his  unknown  friend,  Dr.  Kane, 
broken  down  in  health  because  of  his  labors  and  privations, 
has  also  closed  his  life. 

Two  of  our  greatest  statesmen,  with  whose  names  for 
a  third  of  a  century  are  associated  some  of  the  most  im- 


784 


HISTOKY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


CLVF*  Portant  measures  of  the  government,  passed  away.     Henry 

Clay  and  Daniel  Webster  :  The  one  at  Washington,  the 

1852.    other  at  his  home  at  Marshfield. 
28.  No  two  men  were  more  endeared  to  the  American 

Oct.  people.  Henry  Clay,  by  his  generous  frankness,  and 
nobleness  of  character  won  their  love.  Daniel  Webster 
in  his  mighty  intellect  towered  above  his  peers,  and  com- 
manded their  respect ;  of  him  they  were  proud. 

Spain  became  alarmed  at  the  attempts  of  lawless  ad- 
venturers striving  to  wrest  Cuba  from  her  hands.  France 
and  England  sympathized  with  her,  and  proposed  to  the 
United  States  to  join  with  them  in  a  "  tripartite  treaty/' 
in  which  each  should  disclaim  any  intention  of  seizing 
upon  that  island,  but,  on  the  contrary,  should  guarantee 
its  possession  to  Spain.  A  correspondence  to  this  effect 
had  already,  commenced,  and  to  the  proposal  Edward 
Everett,  who  since  the  death  of  Webster  was  Secretary  of 
State,  replied  in  the  negative.  "  The  President,"  said  he, 
"  does  not  covet  the  acquisition  of  Cuba  for  the  United 
States."  Yet  he  "could  not  see  with  indifference  that 
island  fall  into  the  possession  of  any  other  European  Gov- 
ernment than  Spain."  It  was  shown  that  this  was  a 
question  peculiarly  American,  from  the  situation  of  the 
island  itself ;  its  proximity  to  our  shores  ;  its  commanding 
the  approach  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  to  the  entrance 
to  the  Mississippi,  which  with  its  tributaries  forms  the 
largest  system  of  internal  water-communication  in  the 
world,  and  also  its  ability  to  interfere  with  the  passage  to 
California  by  the  Isthmus  route.  It  was  another  state- 
ment of  the  celebrated  Monroe  doctrine,  that  the  United 
States  did  not  recognize  European  interference  in  ques- 
tions purely  American. 

For  President  the  Whigs  nominated  General  Scott, 
and  the  Democrats,  Franklin  Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire. 


<• 


DEATH   OF   WILLIAM   R.    KING.  785 

The  latter  was  elected,  in  connection  with  William  K.  CHAP. 

King,  of  Alabama,  as  Vice-President.     Mr.  King  had  been  L 

United  States'  Senator  from  that  State — with  the  ex-  1852. 
ception  of  four  years,  when  he  was  American  minister  at 
the  court  of  France — since  1819,  compelled  by  declining 
health  he  went  to  Cuba,  when  he  took  the  oath  of  office. 
Then  he  returned  home,  not  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of 
the  Vice-Presidency,  but  to  die. 


50 


* 


CHAPTER    LVI. 

• 

PIERCE'S   ADMINISTRATION. 

Purchase  of  the  Mesilla  Valley. — Treaty  with  Japan. — The  Kansas-Ne- 
braska Bill. — The  effects  of  the  Measure. — Emigrants  to  Kansas. — 
Struggles  and  Conflicts. — James  Buchanan,  President. — The  Contest 
continues  in  Kansas. — National  Progress. 

LVI."   THE  new  President  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March, 

was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin 

1853.  G0;Qege^  an(j  by  profession  a  lawyer.  He  had  served  in 
the  legislature  of  his  native  State,  two  terms  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  at  Washington  and  nearly  a  term  in 
the  Senate  of  the_United  States.  William  L.  Marcy,  of 
New  York,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State. 

Owing  to  the  incorrectness  of  the  maps  used  when  the 
treaty  of  Gruadalupe  Hidalgo  was  made,  a  dispute  arose  as 
to  the  proper  boundaries  between  New  Mexico  and  the 
Mexican  province  of  Chihuahua.  Both  parties  claimed 
the  Mesilla  Valley,  said  to  be  fertile,  but  more  important 
for  affording  facilities  for  a  road  to  California.  Santa 
Jan-  Anna,  who  was  again  President  of  the  republic  of  Mexico, 
and  intent,  as  usual,  on  driving  a  bargain,  took  possession 
of  the  territory  in  dispute.  The  United  States  obtained 
the  valley,  and  the  free  navigation  of  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia and  of  the  river  Colorado,  to  the  American  boun- 
dary by  paying  the  Mexican  government  ten  millions  of 
dollars. 


TREATY    WITH   JAPAN THE    NEBRASKA   BILL.  787 

The  acquisition  of  California  made  the  importance  of  CHAP. 

commercial  treaties  with  the  nations  of  eastern  Asia  more  

and  more  apparent.  During  Fillmore's  term,  Commodore  1853. 
Perry,  brother  of  the  hero  of  Lake  Erie,  was  sent  with 
a  squadron  to  open  communication  with  the  empire  of 
Japan.  The  inhabitants  of  those  islands  from  time  im- 
memorial had  excluded  foreigners.  The  authorities  were 
greatly  astonished  at  the  boldness  of  the  Commodore, 
when  he  appeared  with  his  steamers— the  first  that  ever 
floated  on  those  waters — in  the  Bay  of  Jeddo.  He  was 
ordered  to  depart ;  but  he  declined  and  insisted  on  seeing 
the  proper  authorities,  and  making  known  to  them  the 
object  of  his  friendly  visit.  At  length  a  Japanese  officer 
appeared,  who  promised  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  em- 
peror. The  14th  of  July  was  the  day  named  to  receive 
the  letter  from  the  President. 

The  Commodore,  escorted  by  a  company  of  marines, 
landed.  He  was  received  with  the  pomp  of  an  oriental 
pageant,  and  an  answer  to  the  letter  promised  the  following 
spring.  The  answer  was  received  and  a  treaty  concluded. 
The  merchants  of  the  United  States  obtained  permission 
to  trade  in  two  specified  ports — Simodi  and  Hakodadi — 
and  also  for  the  residence  of  American  citizens  and  con- 
suls at  the  ports,  as  well  as  to  visit  without  molestation 
in  the  interior,  ten  or  twelve  miles.  April. 

The  measure  that  will  render  the  administration  of 
Pierce  famous,  was  the  bill  to  organize  the  territories  of 
Nebraska  and  Kansas.  This  was  an  immense  region — 
extending  from  the  confines  of  Missouri,  Iowa  and  Min- 
nesota to  the  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  from 
thirty-six  degrees  thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  to  the 
British  possessions.  This  vast  territory  was  a  part  of  the 
Louisiana  Purchase,  from  which,  by  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise, the  system  of  slavery  had  been  excluded. 

In  part  this  region  had  been  assigned  to  the  various 


"788  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


f  Indians,  who  years  before,  to  make  way  for  set- 
tiers,  had  removed  from  their  lands  north-west  of  the 

1853.  Ohio. '   The  white  settlers  who  had  gone  to  that  region 
wished  that  the  Indian  tribes  should  be  extinguished,  and 
a  territorial  government  established. 

In  accordance  with   this   wish   Senator   Stephen  A. 
Jan     Douglas,  of  Illinois,  proposed  a  bill  in  the  United  States' 

1854.  Senate,  to  organize  this  region  into  two  territories,  to  be 
known  as  Kansas  and  Nebraska.     This  bill  contained  a 
clause  repealing  the  Missouri  Compromise,  under  the  plea 
that  it  "  was  inconsistent  with  the  principle  of  non-in- 
tervention by  Congress  with  slavery  in  the  States    and 
Territories,  as  recognized  by  the  compromise  measures  of 
1850  ; "  "  it  being  the  true  intent  of  the  act  to  leave  the 
people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  form  and  regulate  their 
domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States/' 

The  people  were  taken  by  surprise.  The  question, 
so  destructive  to  national  harmony,  and  which  it  was 
hoped  had  been  settled  forever,  had  assumed  a  new  form. 
The  Missouri  Compromise  had  been  deemed  a  sacred  com- 
pact between  the  south  and  the  north,  and  as  such,  for 
the  third  of  a  century,  had  received  the  sanction  of  all 
parties.  The  irritations  caused  by  the  fiery  discussions 
in  Congress  four  years  previous  were  by  no  means  yet 
healed.  A  deep-toned  feeling  was  excited,  especially  in 
the  northern  States. 

It  was  just  fifty  years  since  the  purchase  of  the  ter- 
ritory, and  up  to  this  time  nearly  all  its  benefits  had  been 
enjoyed  by  those  who  held  slaves.  Meantime  emigrants 
from  the  free  States  had  been  compelled,  from  their  un- 
willingness to  come  in  contact  with  slavery,  to  seek  their 
homes  and  farms  north  of  Missouri,  and  forego  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  genial  climate  found  in  the  latitude  of 
that  State. 

These  free  laborers,  as  well  as  those  who  intended  to 


EMIGRANTS   TO   KANSAS.  789 

seek   honSes  in  the  west,  complained  that  this   region,  CHAP. 

guaranteed  to  them  by  the  Missouri  Compromise,  should  L 

be  rendered  liable  to  be  made  slaveholding.  Conventions  1854. 
were  held  and  petitions  poured  into  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress, imploring  those  bodies  not  to  disturb  the  tranquillity 
of  the  country,  nor  violate  the  compact  so  long  held 
sacred.  The  South  did  not  participate  so  much  in  this 
feeling. 

In  reply  to  these  remonstrances  it  was  said,  the  prin- 
ciple of  "  Squatter  or  Popular  Sovereignty/'  would  obviate 
all  difficulty  ;  by  this  principle  the  people  of  the  territory 
would  be  free  in  their  political  action,  and  when  they 
came  to  form  their  state  constitutions,  and  ask  admission 
into  the  Union,  they  could  exercise  this  right  and  adopt 
or  reject  slavery.  With  this  interpretation  the  bill  passed 
Congress,  after  nearly  four  months'  discussion,  was  signed 
by  the  President,  and  became  the  law  of  the  land.  May. 

Now  came  the  struggle  to  secure  the  new  State  by 
sending  emigrants,  whose  votes  were  to  decide  the  ques- 
tion. Two  years  before,  and  not  with  reference  to  a  con- 
tingency of  this  kind,  the-  Legislature  of  Massachusetts 
incorporated  a  company  known  as  "  The  Emigrants'  Aid 
Society."  This  association  had  been  inactive,  but  now  its 
aid  was  invoked,  and  numbers  were  assisted  to  emigrate 
to  Kansas.  Similar  societies  were  formed  in  other  north- 
ern States.  The  emigrants  from  the  free  States  went  to 
remain  and  improve  their  claims,  and  found  homes  for 
their  families.  Emigrants  came  also  from  the  Southern 
States,  but  with  the  exception  of  those  who  came  from 
Missouri  only  a  limited  number  have  remained  in  the  ter- 
ritory to  improve  their  claims. 

Conflicting  opinions  soon  produced  political  parties 
known  as  Pro-Slavery  and  Free-State,  and  the  practical 
application  of  the  doctrine  of  "  popular  sovereignty  "  was 

* 


790  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

CLVI'   aPPealed  to,  to  test  which  party  had  the  majority,  and 

,  according  to  true  democracy  should  rule. 

1854.          The  first  territorial  election  was  held  to  choose  a  dele- 
°7'    gate  to  Congress,  and  four  months  later — a  census  in  the 

Mar.  meantime  having  been  taken  and  the  territory  divided 
into  districts — another  election  was  held  to  choose  members 
to  the  Territorial  Legislature.  In  both  of  these  elections, 
the  pro-slavery  party  claimed  that  they  had  chosen  their 
candidates,  but  the  free-state  men  repudiated  the  elec- 
tion as  fraudulent ;  giving  as  a  reason  that  the  polls  were 
controlled  by  armed  men  from  Missouri. 

The  Territorial  Legislature  assembled  at  Pawnee  and 

July  immediately  adjourned  to  the  Shawnee  Mission,  near  the 
Missouri  State  line.  They  passed  a  series  of  laws,  to 
which  Governor  Keeder  refused  his  signature,  on  the 
ground  that  the  Legislature,  by  the  organic  act,  could  not 
*  change  the  place  of  meeting  appointed  by  himself.  These 
laws  were  however  passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote. 

The  Free  State  men  held  conventions,  denied  the  le- 
gality of  the  legislature,  and  refused  to  obey  the  laws  en- 
acted by  it,  and  made  arrangements  to  choose  delegates 
to  a  Convention  to  form  a  Constitution.  In  due  time  this 

Oct.  Convention  assembled  at  Topeka,  framed  a  Constitution 
rejecting  slavery,  and  ordered  it  to  be  submitted  to  the 
vote  of  the  people,  who  ratified  it.  One  month  later  the 
people  chose  State  officers  and  members  for  a  State  Legis- 
lature. Soon  after  Governor  Keeder  was  removed  from 

•^    his  office  by  the  President. 

During  these  ten  months  confusion  reigned  in  the 
Territory.  Outrages  of  almost  every  kind  were  com- 
mitted, robberies,  murders,  illegal  arrests  and  property 
destroyed,  most  of  which  belonged  to  the  Free  State 
settlers. 

Wilson  Shannon,  of  Ohio,  who  had  recently  been  ap- 
pointed Governor,  now  appeared  and  assumed  office.  He 


*  ^  * 

CONGRESS   APPOINTS  A   COMMITTEE   OF   INVESTIGATION.  791 

declared  himself  in  favor  of  the  laws  enacted  at  the  Shaw-  CHAP. 

•»*••    *•»  LVI. 

nee  Mission.  

The  government,  under  the  Free-State  Constitution,    1855. 
was  organized,  and  the  contest  took  the  form  of  civil  war.    Mar 

4.' 

At  the  opening  of  the  session  of  Congress,  the  delegate    Dec. 
from  Kansas,  chosen  as  related  above,  appeared  and  de-    1855> 
manded  his  seat.  After  a  spicy  discussion  the  House  refused 
the  demand,  but  appointed  a  committee  to  proceed  to  the 
Territory  and  summon  witnesses  in  relation  to  the  recent 
elections.     In  a  month's  time  the  committee  had  arrived    Mar. 
in   Kansas,   and   commenced   the   investigation.      Their     19- 
report  sustained  the  charge  that  those  elections  had  been 
carried  by  fraud. 

The  summer  of  1856  was  signalized  by  the  commission 
of  many  outrages,  committed  in  different  parts  of  the  Ter- 
ritory. The  Free-State  men  armed  themselves,  and 
determined  to  defend  their  rights.  Several  conflicts  en- 
sued and  many  lives  were  lost.  Presently  Shannon 
received  notice  of  his  removal  from  office,  and  John  W. 
Geary,  of  Pennsylvania,  soon  appeared  as  his  successor. 
The  new  governor  honestly  labored  to  restore  harmony. 
He  ordered  "  all  bodies  of  men  combined,  armed,  and 
equipped  with  munitions  of  war,  without  authority  of  the 
government,  instantly  to  disband,  and  quit  the  territory." 
Upon  this  the  companies  of  Free-State  men  nearly  all 
disbanded,  but  it  was  only  partially  obeyed  by  the  other 
party,  who  had  concentrated  a  force  of  more  than  two 
thousand  men.  The  Governor,  with  the  dragoons,  threw  Sept. 
himself  between  them  and  the  town  of  Lawrence  and  pre- 
vented another  conflict. 

The  presidential  canvass  was  now  in  progress.  The 
main  question  at  issue — the  extension  of  slavery  into  the 
Territories  or  its  limitation  to  the  States  wherein  it 
already  existed. 


792  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


CHAP.          Within  a  few  years   political  issues  had  somewhat 

changed.     A  party  known  as  American,  had  arisen  ;  their 

1853.  main  principle  opposition  to  foreign  influence,  and  their 
motto,  "  Americans  should  rule  America."  The  follow- 
ing year  they  were  successful  in  most  of  the  state  elections. 
Meantime  arose  another  p^rty,  composed  principally  of 
Whigs  and  Democrats,  who  were  opposed  to  the  extension 
of  slavery  into  free  territory.  They  were  known  as  Ke- 
publicans.  On  the  other  hand  the  Democrats  announced 
themselves  willing  to  let  slavery  go  into  the  territories  if 
the  inhabitants  thereof  desired  it.  The  latter  party 
nominated  James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania  ;  the  Ke- 
publicans,  John  C.  Fremont,  of  California,  and  the 
Americans,  ex-president  Fillmore. 

The  canvass  was  one  of  more  than  usual  spirit.  The 
passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  had  even  added  new 
interest  to  the  main  question  at  issue.  It  had  taken  deep 
hold  of  the  minds  of  the  people  ;  and  they  never  before 
gave  such  evidence  of  their  independence,  and  repudiation 
of  mere  party  ties. 

Mr.   Buchanan  was  elected  President,  and  John  C. 
1856     Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky,  Vice-President. 

The  House  of  Kepresentatives  at  Washington  passed 
a  bill,  declaring  the  acts  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of 
Kansas  null  and  void,  both  on  the  ground  that  its  enact- 
ments "  were  cruel  and  oppressive/'  and  that  "  the  said 
legislature  was  not  elected  by  the  legal  voters  of  Kansas, 
but  was  forced  upon  them  by  non-residents  in  violation  of 

^^jk    the  organic  act  of  the  territory."     This  bill  failed  to  pass 
1857.   the  Senate. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  Mr.  Buchanan  was  inaugurated 
President.  He  was  educated  for  the  legal  profession. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  of  his  native  State.  He  was  afterward  a 


IT 


** 


-kl  •      •  ' 

LECOMPTON  CONVENTION.  793 

member  of  the  House  of  Kepresentatives  ten  years  ;  then  CHAP. 

Minister  to   Russia — sent  by  General  Jackson — then  a  _ 

member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  ;  then  Secre-    1857.  4    fc? 
tary  of  State,  under  President  Polk,  and  then  Minister  to 
Great  Britain.     Senator  Lewis  Cass  was  appointed  Secre- 
tary of  State,  by  the  new  President. 
\ 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of 
Kansas  an  election  was  ordered  for  delegates  to  a  conven- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  framing  a  constitution,  but  under 
conditions  to  secure  a  pro-slavery  majority  of  delegates. 
The  Free  State  men,  for  the  reasons  already  given,  as 
well  as  others,  refused  to  take  part  in  the  election.  It 
was  held,  however,  and  a  pro-slavery  delegation  chosen.  June. 
Meanwhile  the  other  party  published  an  address  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  in  which  they  set  forth  the 
wrongs  they  had  endured,  and  to  which  they  were  still 
subject. 

Soon  after  Governor  Geary  resigned,  and  the  President 
appointed  Robt.  J.  Walker,  of  Mississippi.  The  new 
Governor  endeavored  to  remedy  these  evils,  and  promised 
the  people  of  the  territory  a  free  expression  of  their  wishes 
at  the  polls. 

Owing  to  the  influence  of  Governor  Walker  the  Free 
State  men  consented  to  vote  at  the  coming  election  for  a 
delegate  to  Congress,  and  members  for  a  Territorial  Legis- 
lature.   They,  by  a  vote  more  than  two  to  one,  chose  their  ? 
candidates.  .:~-v;,  Oct. 

Shortly  after  this  election,  the  delegates  chosen  as  we 
have  seen,  met  in  convention  at  Lecompton,  and  speedily 
framed  a  constitution.  It  contained  a  provision  adopting 
slavery,  and  this  provision  alone,  the  convention  submitted 
to  the  people  of  Kansas  to  ratify  or  reject.  Connected 
with  this  was  a  clause  which  made  it  necessary  for  those 
who  were  challenged  at  the  polls  "to  take  an  oath  to 
support  the  constitution  if  adopted,"  before  they  were 


794  HISTORY   OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 

jk  "He 

*\     CLVI'  Permitted  to  deposit  their  vote.     This  was  followed  by  a 

proviso  that  the  constitution  could  not  be  amended  before 

TA  1857.  the  year  1864,  and  then  only  by  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  of  both  Houses  of  the  Legislature, 
and  "  a  majority  of  all  the  citizens  of  the  State/' 

The  Free  State  men  refused  to  vote  on  the  ratification 
of  this  constitution,  as  they  denied  the  authority  that 
framed  it ;  but  it  received  some  votes,  and  was  declared 
adopted,  and  sent  as  such  to  Congress.  There  the  discus- 
sion on  the  subject  was  as  bitter  as  ever.  It  was  denied 
that  the  people  of  Kansas  were  fairly  treated  in  not 
having  the  opportunity  to  vote  upon  the  adoption  of  the 
entire  constitution  as  implied  by  the  doctrine  of  "  Popular 
Sovereignty,"  said  to  be  the  essence  of  the  Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill. 

April  Finally,  a  bill  was  passed  to  submit  the  constitution 
to  the  people  of  Kansas,  but  on  two  conditions  ;  one,  that 
if  they  failed  to  ratify  it,  they  would  not  be  permitted  to 
enter  the  Union  until  they  had  a  population  of  ninety- 
three  thousand  ;  the  other,  if  they  did  ratify  it,  they  should 
receive  certain  of  the  public  lands  for  State  purposes. 
In  the  face  of  these  strange  conditions  the  people  of 
1858.  Kansas,  on  the  2d  of  August,  rejected  the  constitution 
by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

As  was  expedient  and  proper,  we  have  given  a  sum- 
mary of  the  facts  of  this  strange  contest  in  Kansas.  The 
events  are  of  too  recent  occurrence  to  enter  upon  the 
causes  or  analyze  the  motives  of  the  prominent  movers  in 


the  affair. 


+  . 


CONCLUSION.  795 

CHAP 
CONCLUSION.  LVI.' 


This  Government,  founded  on  the  recognition  of  the  1869. 
civil  and  religious  rights  of  man,  may  be  regarded  as  an 
experiment  now  in  process  of  trial.  It  is  natural  that 
under  such  a  government  the  people  should  make  progress 
in  religion,  in  literature,  in  science,  and  in  those  me- 
chanical arts  and  inventions  that  promote  the  comfort 
and  advancement  of  mankind. 

Let  us  take  a  rapid  glance  at  the  progress  made  by 
this  youthful  nation  in  the  short  life  of  seventy  years. 
Since  the  first  census,  (1790,)  the  number  of  inhabitants  1789 
has  increased  more  than  sixfold,  now  amounting  to  at 
least  twenty-six  millions.  In  the  same  period  foreign 
commerce  has  increased  in  value  tenfold,  from  twenty  to  1359. 
two  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  while  the  internal  trade 
has  reached  five  hundred  millions.  In  connection  with 
this  has  been  a  steady  increase  in  the  facilities  for  com- 
munication and  transport,  first  by  means  of  steamboats, 
which  now  abound  upon  our  rivers  and  great  lakes  ;  by 
means  of  canals  connecting  the  lakes  with  the  Atlantic 
and  with  the  Ohio,  and  railroads,  extending  to  all  parts 
of  the  land,  and  which  have  increased  to  an  aggregate 
length  of  more  than  thirty  thousand  miles,  in  operation  or 
in  process  of  construction. 

A  steady  progress  has  also  been  made  in  agriculture, 
in  which  a  greater  number  is  engaged  than  in  any  other 
employment,  as  farmers  in  the  Northern,  and  planters  in 
the  Southern  States.     As  an  agricultural  product,  Indian 
corn  stands  first  in  value — three  hundred  millions  of  dol-  Census, 
lars  ;  wheat,  one  hundred  ;  cotton,  ninety-eight,  and  hay,    • 
ninety-six  millions  ;  and  so  on,  through  the  list  of  crops. 

The  inventive  genius  of  the  people  has  been  active  in 
securing  the  powers  of  nature  in  adding  to  the  comforts 
of  human  life.  In  implements  for  cultivating  the  soil 
there  have  been  innumerable  improvements,  from  the 


• 


t 


.      ... 

796  HISTOKT   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


simple  hoe  to  the  steam-plough,  and  from  the  primitive 
sickle  to  the  reaping-machine.  As  striking  have  been  the 
improvements  in  the  steam  engine,  in  ship  building,  in 
printing  presses  ;  by  means  of  one  invented  by  Kichard 
M.  Hoe,  many  thousand  impressions  can  be  taken  in  an 
hour. 

Prof.  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  a  native  of  Massachusetts, 
then  a  resident  of  New  York  city,  in  whose  university  his 

1844.  experiments  were  first  made,  gave  to  the  world  the  Elec- 
tric Telegraph.  It  is  vain  to  conjecture  the  benefit  that 
will  accrue  to  the  human  family  from  this  invention  ; 
may  it  be  a  harbinger  of  peace  —  a  link  to  unite  the  nations 
in  one  common  union. 

We  have  seen  the  character  of  the  first  settlers  of  this 
land  ;  their  intelligence,  their  zeal  in  founding  institutions 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  The 

1819.  time  came  to  welcome  another  immigration.  In  1819 
Congress  first  directed  the  collectors  of  ports  to  take  cog- 
nizance of  the  foreigners  who  arrived  in  the  country,  and 
make  returns  of  the  same  to  the  Secretary  of  State.  That 

1854.  immigration,  subject  to  great  fluctuations,  in  one  year 
•*  amounted  to  three  hundred  and  seventy-two  thousand. 
Of  these  the  majority  had  no  higher  skill  than  to  engage 
in  the  simplest  forms  of  manual  labor.  They  aided  im- 
mensely in  the  development  of  the  country.  Without 
their  toil  our  canals  would  never  have  been  dug  nor  our 
railroads  built,  nor  the  improvements  in  our  towns  and 
cities.  They  have  received  the  recompense  of  their  daily 
labor,  yet  as  a  nation  we  acknowledge  to  them  our  ob- 
ligations. 

The  cheap  lands  of  the  Great  West  offered  induce- 
ments to  the  enterprising  in  the  older  States  to  emigrate, 
and  while  they  levelled  the  forests  and  brought  the  wilder- 
ness under  cultivation,  the  industry  of  the  older  States 
was  stimulated,  and  by  means  of  manufactures  and  com- 
merce they  supplied  their  wants.  Thus  could  be  seen  a 


* 


,m 


COMMON   SCHOOLS — THE   PKESS.  797 

vast  array  of  peaceful  warriors,  their  front  extending  from  CHAP. 

south  to  north,  nearly  a  thousand  miles,  marching  west, 

and  subduing  the  fertile  valleys  by  the  axe  and  plough- 
share ;  advance  parties  have  taken  position  on  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific,  while  a  line  of  posts  keep  up  communica- 
tion with  the  main  force. 

The  youth  of  the  land  have  not  been  forgotten.  Pub-  1(533 
lie  schools,  having  their  origin  in  Massachusetts,  have 
become  the  heritage  of  nearly  all  the  States.  At  con- 
venient points,  Congress  has  set  apart  of  the  public  lands, 
nearly  fifty  millions  of  acres,  for  the  special  support  of  the 
common  schools  in  the  new  States  and  territories.  The 
older  States,  in  the  mean  time,  have  been  making  laud- 
able exertions  to  increase  their  school  funds.  The  num- 
ber of  pupils  in  academies,  and  in  the  common  and  private 
schools,  is  more  than  three  millions  and  a  half ;  and  in 
colleges,  theological  seminaries,  medical  and  law  schools, 
the  students  number  nearly  twenty  thousand. 

In  no  respect  has  the  mental  energy  of  the  nation 
manifested  itself  so  much  as  in  the  encouragement  given 
to  the  public  press.  The  common  schools  taught  the 
youth  to  read  ;  the  innate  desire  of  acquiring  knowledge 
was  fostered,  and  the  fascinating  newspaper,  as  it  statedly 
enters  the  domestic  circle,  reflects  the  world  and  records 
the  progress  of  the  age.  Here  "  we  meet  with  the 
speculations  of  wisdom  and  science,  the  effusions  of  senti- 
ment, the  sallies  of  wit."  By  this  means  the  most  retired 
can  be  brought  into  sympathy  with  the  world,  whether  in 
in  its  wars  and  desolations,  or  in  its  glorious  yearnings 
after  excellence,  peace,  and  happiness. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Kevolution  there  were 
but  thirty-five  newspapers,  and  they  of  a  very  limited 
circulation ;  now  there  are  nearly  three  thousand.  The  • 
important  questions  of  the  time  are  discussed  in  their 
columns,  and  upon  these  questions  the  nation  acts,  and 
thence  they  pass  into  history.  If  the  issues  of  the  press 


*  >.••* 

* 


4 

798  HISTOKY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

**  ^^     *  ^T         -  £  * 

CB^P-  are  kept  pure,  the  blessing  in  all  its  greatness  far  trans- 
-  cends  mortal  ken.      Public  opinion  has  been  termed  a 
tyrant  ;  but  it  is  a  tyrant,  that,  if  vicious,  can  be  made  vir- 
•t  «s    tuous  ;  can  be  reformed,  if  not,  dethroned.     Let  the  virtue 
and  the  intelligence  of  the  nation  see  to  it  that  it  is  a 
righteous  tyrant,  and  submission  to  its  iron  rule  becomes 
a  blessing. 

In  intimate  connection  with  this  intellectual  progress 
is  the  increase  of  public  libraries.  These  are  as  diversified 
as  the  wants  of  the  people.  There  is  the  village  or  Sun- 
1  +*  day  school  library,  with  its  few  hundred  volumes;  the 
social  or  circulating  libraries,  containing  much  of  the 
current  literature  of  the  day.  An  important  feature  was 
introduced  at  the  formation  of  the  public  library  in  New 
York  city,  bearing  the  name  of  its  founder,  John  Jacob 
Astor,  and  since  increased  by  his  son.  It  is  designed  to 
furnish  standard  works  on  the  varied  subjects  of  useful 
human  knowledge  —  an  armory  for  the  practical  student, 
through  whom  the  influence  is  to  reach  those  who  cannot 
personally  avail  themselves  of  its  treasures. 

In  art  we  have  those  who  have  exhibited  evidence  of 

^k,  ' 

genius  that  may  yet  give  the  nation  a  name  honored 
among  those  eminent  in  painting  and  sculpture.  Her 
sons  have  not  been  surrounded  by  models  from  great 
masters  to  awaken  in  early  life  the  slumbering  genius,  nor 
have  they  been  encouraged  by  a  traditionary  reverence 
among  the  people  for  such  manifestations  of  talent.  It 
has  been  in  the  face  of  these  disadvantages  that  they 
have  reached  their  present  high  position,  not  by  passing 
through  a  training,  laborious  and  preparatory,  but  almost 


at  a  bound. 

A  nation  may  glory  in  her  great  men,  but  it  is  the 
great  body  of  the  people  we  rejoice  to  see  associating 
themselves  for  purposes  of  doing  good  or  for  self-improve- 
ment. Such  an  association  is  the  Temperance  movement, 
which  has  had  an  immense  influence  for  good  upon  the 


'  * 
V 


INDIVIDUAL    RESPONSIBILITY — CHARITIES.  799 

%   .       * 

nation.     The  moral  phase  of  the  subject  has  taken  deep  CHAP. 

hold  of  the  minds  and  conscience  of  the  people,  and  in  L. 

the  end  the  cause  must  prevail.  There  is  also  no  more 
cheering  signs  of  the  times,  than  the  people  themselves 
becoming  more  and  more  acquainted  with  their  civil  rights 
and  duties,  and  in  their  demanding  virtue  and  political 
integrity  in  those  who  serve  them  in  a  public  capacity, 
and  when  there  is  a  dereliction  of  duty,  their  appealing 
promptly  to  the  ballot  box. 

Governments  had  hitherto  interfered  more  or  less  with 
the  liberty  of  conscience ;  they  assumed  that  in  some  way 
they  were  responsible  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  their 
subjects.  Free  inquiry  and  a  knowledge  of  the  truths  of 
the  Bible,  and  the  separation  of  church  and  state,  shifted 
that  responsibility  to  the  individual  himself,  and  it  also 
became  his  recognized  duty  to  support  schools  of  learning 
and  sustain  religious  institutions.  This  change  in  the 
minds  of  the  people  commenced  in  the  Great  Awakening 
under  Jonathan  Edwards.  To  this  principle  of  individual 
responsibility  may  be  traced  the  voluntary  support,  and 
the  existence  of  the  various  benevolent  operations  of  the 
day,  in  which  all  the  religious  denominations  participate. 
These  in  their  efforts  are  not  limited  to  the  destitute 
portions  of  our  own  country,  but  in  foreign  lands  also  may 
be  found  the  devoted  teacher  of  Christianity  and  its 
humanizing  civilization,  supported  and  encouraged  by  the 
enlightened  benevolence  of  his  own  countrymen.  The 
same  principle  produces  fruits  in  founding  asylums  for  the 
purpose  of  relieving  human  suffering  and  distress,  or 
smoothing  the  pathway  of  the  unfortunate.  The  men  of 
wealth  more  fully  appreciate  their  responsibility,  and  the 
mental  energy  exercised  in  its  accumulation,  has  been 
consecrated  to  doing  good.  Millions  have  thus  been  be- 
queathed to  aid  or  to  found  institutions  of  learning,  that 
the  youth  may  be  secured  to  virtue  and  intelligence — a 


4fc 

f    •  I 


* 


800  HISTORY    OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

CEAP.  blessed  influence  that  will  increase  in  power  from  age  to 

-  age. 

We  inherit  the  English  language  and  its  glorious  as- 
sociations— the  language  of  a  free  gospel,  free  speech,  and 
a  free  press.  Its  literature,  imbued  with  the  principles 
of  liberty,  civil  and  religious,  belongs  to  us  ;  we  claim  the 
worthies  of  the  mother  country  whose  writings  have  done 
so  much  to  promote  sound  learning,  a  chaste  literature 
and  a  pure  morality,  with  no  less  gratitude  and  pride  than 
we  do  those  of  our  own  land.  The  commerce  of  the  world 
is  in  the  hands  of  those  speaking  the  English  language  ; 
on  the  coasts  of  Asia,  of  Africa,  in  Australia,  in  the  Isles 
of  the  Pacific,  it  has  taken  foothold — may  it  be  the  means 
of  disseminating  truth  and  carrying  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  the  blessings  of  Christianity. 

The  ultimate  success  of  this  Government,  and  the 
stability  of  its  institutions,  its  progress  in  all  that  can 
make  a  nation  honored,  depend  upon  its  adherence  to  the 
principles  laid  down  by  our  fathers.  Let  the  part  we  are 
to  perform  in  the  world  be  not  the  subjugation  of  others 
to  our  sway  by  physical  force,  but  the  noble,  the  mag- 
nificent destiny,  that  has  never  fallen  to  any  people,  to 
subdue  by  the  diffusion  of  a  Christianized  civilization. 

•  '••  *  ' 

**  < 


THE   END. 


ii 


I 


INDEX. 


Abenakis,  201 ;  war  with,  212. 

Abercrombie,  General,  257. 

Abolition,  772. 

Aborigines,  7-10. 

Acadie,  French,  35. 

Acadiens,  35  ;  expatriation,  243-248. 

Academy,  West  Point,  585  ;  officers,  728. 

Adams,  John,  283,  298,  308,  324,  511 ;  Vice 

President,  527  ;    President,    547-554  ; 

death,  657. 
Adams,  John    Quincy,    615 ;    President, 

655-660 ;  death,  768. 
Adams,  Samuel,  284,  296,  307. 
Ahasistari,  198,  200. 
Alamo,  the,  686. 
Alien  Act,  550. 
Algonquins,  9,  199. 
Allen,  Ethan,  318,  338,  339. 
Allouez,  202. 

Amherst,  Lord  Jeffrey,  257,  261. 
Ampudia,  General,  699,  707,  719. 
Andre,  Major,  477-479. 
Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  178, 179. 
Annapolis  Convention,  519. 
Appalachees,  149. 
Archdale,  John,  147. 
Arista,  General,  699,  703. 
Arkwright,  Sir  Richard,  533. 
Armed  Neutrality,  483. 
Armstrong,  Gen.  John,  251,  421. 
Armstrong,  Gen.  John,  jr.,  513  ;  Sec.  of 

War,  598,  607. 
Arnold,  Benedict,  318,  338,  342.  389,  403, 

406 ;  Behmus'  Heights,  434 ;   treason, 

476-479,  488,  503. 
Ashburton,  Lord,  680,  683. 
Assembly,  Legislative,  the  first,  55. 
Associations,  non-importation,    282,    296, 

298,  309. 

Astor  Library,  798. 
Augustine,  St.,  32,  149,  164,  646. 
Austin,  Moses,  685. 
Ayllon,  Vasquez  de,  13. 

Bacon,  Nathaniel,  105-107. 
Bainbridge,  Captain,  557,  596.     I 
Balboa,  Nunez  de,  11. 
Baltimore,  Lord,  99,  100. 
Bancroft,  George,  56,  278,  737. 
Bank  of  North  America,  500. 

United  States,  532,  642,  663. 
Barre,  Colonel,  287. 
Bart  ram,  279. 
Beaumarchais,  412. 
Bennington,  battle,  431. 

51 


Benton,  Thomas  H.,  698. 

Berkeley,  Sir  William,  102, 103, 104-108. 

Bills  of  credit,  442. 

Bladensburg,  battle,  625. 

Blair,  Rev.  James,  110. 

Blue  Lick,  battle,  510. 

Board  of  Trade,  154. 

Bonaparte's  decrees   affecting  American 
commerce,  563,  573,  583. 

Boone,  Daniel,  463,  510. 

Boston,  77,  95  ;  Port  Bill,  304  ;  evacuated, 
355. 

Bouquet,  General,  271. 

Boylston,  Dr.,  194. 

Braddock,  General,  235-240. 

Bradford,  William,  66,  71,  73. 

Bradstreet,  Simon,  75. 

Colonel,  258. 

Brandywine,  battle,  420. 

Brant,  Indian  chief,  430. 

Bragg,  Captain,  727. 

Brewster,  William,  64,  65. 

Brock,  General,  587. 

Brown,  General  Jacob,  617,  618. 

Buchanan,  James,  693,  736,  754;   Presi- 
dent, 792. 

Buena  Vista,  battle,  716-728. 

Buffalo  burned,  608. 

Bunker  Hill,  battle,  328. 

Burgoyne,  General,  327,  413 ;  surrenders. 
437. 

Burke,  Edmund,  293,  410,  429. 

Burr,  Aaron,  554,  559-561. 

Burroughs,  George,  192. 

Cabot,  John,  15. 

Sebastien,  16,  17. 
Calef,  Robert,  193. 
Caldwell,  Rev.  James,  470. 
Calhoun,  John  C.,  578  ;  V.  President,  654, 

664,  666;  Sec.  of  State,  690,  696,  774; 

death,  778. 
Calvin,  John,  278. 
Camden,  battle,  474. 
Canada,  invasion  of,  590,  618. 
Carleton,  Sir  Guy,  340,  359,  388,  511. 
Canonicus,  71,  79,  86. 
Carolina,  30,  141. 
Caroline  affair,  681. 
Caron,  Father  le,  196.  v 

Carroll,  John,  bishop,  525. 
Cartier,  James,  18-21. 
Carver,  John,  63,  67. 
Cass,  Lewis,  587,  769. 
Catawbas,  152. 


« 


INDEX. 


,  Church,  525. 

Cerro  Gordo,  battle,  750. 


l  ;m 


Culpepper,  109. 


| 


Catholic  Church, 

Cerro  Gordo,  batt^,  ,„„. 

Champlain,  Samuel,  35,  36. 

Chapultepec  taken,  762. 

Charities,  799. 

Charters,  colonial,  46,  51,  91,  133,  142,  157, 

168. 

Charleston,  144, 150  ;  taken  469. 
Chauncey,  Captain,  590. 
Cherokees,  152  ;  war  with,  266,  656 ;  re- 
moval of,  662. 

Chesapeake,  affair  of,  566 :  capture  of,  601. 
Chickasaws,  25,  218. 
•   Chihuahua  taken,  743. 
Chippewa,  battle,  618. 
Choctaws,  159,  217. 
Church  of  England,  59, 104,  111,  141, 151. 

Episcopal,  178,  179. 

and  State,  separation  of,  525. 

Congregational,  524. 
Churubusco,  battle,  758. 
Cincinnati  Society,  515. 
Claims  against  France,  671. 
Clarke,  George  Rogers,  464. 
Clarke  and  Lewis's  explorations,  696. 
Clay,  Gen.  Green,  600. 
Clay  Henry,  578,  581,  616,  651,  776  ;  death, 

Clayborne.  William,  99, 101. 
Clayton,  John  M.,  667,  771. 
Clinton,  De  Witt,  656. 

George,  325,  372,  515,  529;  Vice!  £onpp  Count,  380  426. 
Pres    559  Domphan's  Expedition,  741. 

Clinton,  'Sir  Henry,  327,  332,  353,  438,  448,    £orr'  Thomas  W.,  692. 

453,  460,  463,  468,  498,  508.  £OTer  destroyed,  209. 

Coddington,  William,  81.  Drake,  Sir  Francis,  41,  43. 

Coke,  Thomas,  bishop,  524. 
Coligny,  29,  34. 

Colleges,  91, 110, 186,  224,  250,  279,  294. 
Colonization  Society,  645. 
Columbus,  Christopher,  2-6. 
Common  sense,  366. 
Common  schools,  91,  276. 
Commerce,  increase  of,  561. 
Commissioners,  British,  449. 

of  peace,  511-615. 
of  customs,  302,  616. 
Company,  London,  46,  98. 
Plymouth,  58,  75. 
Dutch  E.  India,  114. 
Compromises,  constitutional,  521. 
Missouri,  648-651. 
of  Texas,  1832,  667. 
of  1850,  779. 

Concord  and  Lexington,  battle,  314. 
Congress,  Stamp  Act,  291. 

old  Continental,  307. 
the  second  "  323. 
Provincial,  Mass.,  313. 


Dahcotahs  or  Sioux,  9,  202. 

Dallas,  George  M.,  693. 

Danbury  burned,  406. 

Daniel,  Father,  197,  201. 

Dartmouth  College,  294. 

Davenport,  Rev.  John,  88. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  718,  722  :  senator.  777. 

Deane  Silas,  412. 

Dearborn,  General  Henry,  590,  607. 

Decatur,  Stephen,  558,  641. 

Declaration  of  rights,  291,  309. 

independence,  Mechlenburg, 

322. 
Declaration  of  Independence  by  Congress. 

368. 

of  war  opposed,  584. 
Decrees  affecting   American    commerce, 

563,  568,  573. 
Delaware,  Lord,  53. 

Delawares,  Christian,  massacre  of,  509. 
D'Estaing,  Count,  452,  453,  462. 
Deposits,  removal  of,  668. 
De  Vries,  116,  118-120. 
Deseret,  781. 

Dictatorship,  Washington,  396,  424. 
Dieskau,  249,  250. 
Dinwiddie,  Gov.,227,  259,  251. 
Dissenters,  141,  144,  148,  313. 
Disunion  convention,  781. 


Connecticut  colony,  81 ;  emigration  to,  88, 
168. 

Constitution,  federal,  521. 

powers  of  in  the  ter- 
ritories, 774,  775. 

Constitutions,  colonial,  56,  67,  88. 

Conway  Cabal,  444. 

Cooper,  Sir  Ashley,  142. 

"  rtez,  12. 

rnwallis  Lord,  373, 385,  397,  474,  490  ;  at 
Yorktown,  498,  505. 

Cowpens,  battle,  489. 

Craven,  Governor,  153. 

Creeks,  152, 154,  159,  609,  656. 

Crockett,  Davy,  687. 

Crown  Point,  248,  323. 

Cruisers,  French  and  English,  573. 
American,  345,  465. 


izations,  523-526. 


,  ,     , 

Dreuilettes,  Father,  201. 
Drummond,  William,  107, 108, 142. 
Dudley,  Thomas,  75,  76. 

Joseph,  177, 180, 184. 
Duche,  Rev.  Jacob,  308. 
Dunbar,  Colonel,  236,  241. 
Dunmore,  Lord,  320,  352. 
Dustin,  Hannah,  212. 
Duties  imposed,  295. 

Ecclesiastical  organizations, 
Edwards,  Jonathan,  223,  799. 
Eliot,  John,  93. 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  60. 
Embargo,  under  Washington,  540. 
Jefferson,  568. 
Madison,  583. 
Endicott,  John,  75,  84. 
English  enterprise,  37. 
language,  800. 
Enterprise,  American,  533. 
Episcopal  church,  523. 
Era  in  human  progress,  529. 


Erskine's  negotiation,  571 
Eutaw  Springs,  battle,  497. 
Exploring  Expedition,  684. 

Federal  Union,  324. 

Federalist,  the,  522. 

Federalist  and  anti-Federalist,  537. 

Ferguson,  Colonel,  479. 

Fillmore,  Millard,  778,  792. 

Financial  disorders,  642,  652. 

Fitch,  John,  643. 

Fletcher,  Benjamin,  137, 185,  287. 

Florida,  12, 22  ;  purchased,  648,  a  State,  692. 

Foot's  resolutions,  debate,  663. 

Fort  Frontenac,  227. 

Niagara,  227. 

Du  Quesne,  232,  260. 

Necessity,  233. 

Edward,  248. 


\ 


m 


*                           * 

1 

an, 

^    :,y             INDEX.                                              803 

i 

Fort  William  Henry,  253. 
France,  relations  with,  547-552. 
Franklin.  Benjamin,  139,  235,  251,  279,  293, 

Howe,  Robert,  General,  456. 
Hudson,  Henry,  112-114. 
Huguenots  in  the  south,  29-34  ;  in  Canada. 

323,  378,  4i2,  511,  521. 

35,145. 

Franklin,  Sir  John,  783. 
Free  Masonry,  658. 

Hull,  Isaac,  Captain,  595. 
William,  General,  586,  587. 

Fremont,  John  C.,  733,  735,  744,  745,  792. 

TTurone,  197,  199,  202. 

Freneau,  Philip,  540. 

Hutchineon,  Anne,  80,  81. 

Frolic,  the,  taken,  596. 

Governor,  299,  302. 

Frontenac,  209. 

Fugitive  slave  law,  779. 

D'lbberville,  Lemoine,  215,  216. 

Fulton,  Robert,  643. 

Impressment,  British,  564,  583,  588,  683. 

Incidents,  103,  108,  120,  158,  334,  377,  595,  611. 

Gage,  General,  237,  297,  305,  312,  328,  333. 

Indented  servants,  104,  110,  408. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  542,  599,  615. 

Independence,  question  of,  364,  368. 

Gaspe,  revenue  vessel,  300. 

Indians,    divisions  of,  9  :  see  names  of 

Gates,  Horatio,  241  ;  sketch,  360,  389,  434, 

tribes. 

in  the  south,  473. 

Indians,  efforts  to  convert,  93,  101,  122, 

Georgia,  156-166,  446  ;  subdued,  483  ;  In- 

176, 662. 

dian  lands  in,  656,  662. 

Indiana,  State,  642. 

Genet's  mission,  539,  540. 

Indigo,  282. 

Germantown,  battle,  424. 

Individual  responsibility,  799. 

Germans  in  the  colonies,  152,  136,  159,  217. 

Influence,  men  of,  181. 

Gerry,  Elbridge,  520,  548. 

of  the  Dutch,  127. 

Gilbert,  Sir  Humphrey,  38. 
Gist,  Christopher,  226,  231. 

Influences,  religious,  273-276,  365,  799. 
Inoculation,  194. 

Glover,  Colonel,  376,  377. 

Internal  improvements,  656. 

Goffe,  167,  173. 

Iowa  a  State,  692. 

Gorges,  Sir  Ferdinand,  89. 
Gosnold,  Bartholomew,  57. 

Isabella,  Queen,  3,  5. 

Gourges,  Dominic  de,  34. 
Graftenried  de,  152. 

Jack,  Captain,  236. 
Jackson,  Andrew,  603,  610,  633.  647  ;  Presi- 

Grand Model,  the,  142. 

dent,  661-672. 

Grant,  Colonel,  259,  268. 

James  I.,  45,  46,  61,  63,97. 

Dr.,  687. 

ll.,  177,  208. 

Grasse,  Count  de,  498,  502,  505,  508. 
Green  Mountain  Boys,  319. 

Jamestown,  47  ;  burned,  107. 
Jasper,  Sergeant,  362. 

Greene,  Nathaniel,  General,  336,  358,  421, 

Java,  the,  taken,  596. 

447  ;   in  the  south,  482,  491,  494. 

Jay,  John,  309,  511  ;  Chief  Justice,  531  ; 

kGridley,  Colonel,  318,  328. 
Grundy,  Felix,  579. 

Mission,  543. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  323,  367,  523  :  Sec.  of 

Guerriere  captured,  595. 
Gunboats,  Jefferson's,  562,  564. 

State,  531,  537  ;  V.  P.  546  ;  President, 
555-570  ;  death,  657. 
Jesuits,  35,  197,  202,  212. 

Hale,  Nathan,  379. 

Jogues,  Father,  200. 

Hamilton.  Alexander,  306,   504,   530,  531, 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  235,  248,  334. 

537  ;  death,  560. 

John,  352,  430. 

Hamilton,  Andrew,  187, 

Colonel  Rich.  M.,  603,  V.  P.  672. 

Hancock,  John,  297,  313,  323,  354,  453. 

Joliet,  Father,  203. 

Hand,  Colonel,  373,  397. 

Jones,  John  Paul,  465. 

Hanson,  Alexander,  586. 

.4  .    ». 

Harrner,  General,  534. 

Kalb,  Baron  de,  411,  419,  471,  475. 

Harrison,  William  Henry,  576,  599  ;  Presi- 

Kane, Dr.  E.  K.,  783. 

dent,  677. 

Kansas,  affairs  in,  790. 

Harrisburg  Convention,  658. 

Kearney,  General,  758. 

Hartford               "             630. 

Kieft,  William,  117-122. 

Harvard  College,  91 

King's  Mountain,  battle,  481. 

Harvey,  Sir  John,  98,  101. 
Haslet,  Colonel,  374,  400. 

Kittanning  destroyed,  251. 
Knowlton,  Colonel,  330,  381. 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  31. 

Knox,  Henry,  347,  355,  393,  515  ;  Sec.  of 

Hayne,  Isaac,  496. 

War,  530. 

Robert  Y.,  663. 
Haynes,  John,  83. 
Heath,  General,  316,  379,  380. 
Heister  do,  General,  374. 
Henry  VIII.,  58. 
Patrick,  285,  289,  308,  320. 

Knyphausen,  General,  422,  470. 
Kosciusko,  Thaddeus,  419,  492. 
*                                     i, 
Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  418,  450,  503  ;  visit 
of,  653. 
Lake  Champlain,  action  on,  622. 

Herkimer,  General,  430,  431. 
Hessians,  hired,  346,  415. 
Hiawatha,  199. 

Erie                   «           619. 
Lane,  James  H.,  Gen.,  718,  764. 
Ralph,  40,  41. 

Hobkirk's  Hill,  battle,  495. 

La  Salle,  204-206. 

Hooker.  Rev.  Thomas,  83,  85. 

Lauren  s,  Henry,  322,  484,  511. 

Horse-shoe,  battle,  610. 

Lawrence,  James,  Captain,  601. 

Houston,  Samuel,  688,  689. 

Lecompton  Convention,  793. 

Howe,  Admiral,  the,  369,  424,  452,  454. 

Ledyard,  the  traveller,  8. 

Sir  William,  '262,  327,  369,  378,  381, 

Colonel,  603. 

413,  420,  422,  423,  448. 

Lee,  Arthur,  412. 

• 
K 


804 


, 


INDEX. 


i 


• 


Lee,  Charles,  General,  258,  333,  351,  386, 
390  ;  treason,  448  ;   death,  452. 

General  Henry,  446,  462,  493,  552,  586. 

Richard  Henry,  285,  307,  309,  367. 
Leisler  Jacob,  182-185. 
Leon,  Juan  Ponce  de,  12. 
Levant  and  Cyane  captured,  640. 
Lexington  and  Concord,  battle,  314. 
Libraries,  798. 
Lincoln,  Benjamin,  General,  313,  435,  456, 

459,  462,  467,  501,  569. 
L'Insurgente,  frigate,  captured,  552. 
Little  Belt,  affair  of,  575. 
Livingston,  Robert  R.,  323,  367,  556,  643. 

William,  290,  307. 
Lloyd,  Senator,  582. 
Locke,  John,  142. 
Long  Island,  battle,  373-377. 
Lopez,  General,  782. 
Louisburg  taken,  220 ;  again,  257. 
London,  Lord,  252," 255. 
Louisiana,  205  ;  purchased,  556. 
Lyman,  General,  248. 
Lyttleton,  Lord,  267. 

Madison,  James,  522  ;  Sec.  of  State,  566  ; 

President,  571,  579,  583,  598,  615,  624, 

629,  639,  643. 
Macedonian  taken,  596. 
*  Macdonough,  Commodore,  622. 
Magazine,  first  American,  140. 
Magaw,  Colonel,  384. 
Manifesto  of  the  British  government,  614. 
Manufactures,    colonial,    restrictions   on. 

148,  168,  282. 

Manufactures,  domestic,  533,  655,  658,  769. 
Marcy,  William  L.,  738,  752,  753. 
Marion,  General  Francis,  472,  495. 
Marquette,  James,  203,  204. 
Marshall,  John,  548,  550,  663  ;  death,  670. 

Colonel  Humphrey,  717. 
Maryland,  100,  102  ;  troubles,  111,  277. 
Mason,  George,  298,  521. 
Mason,  Captain  John,  86,  87. 
Massachusetts,  74,  90,  168,  220,  615,  628, 

632. 

Massasoit,  70,  71,  176. 
Matamoras  occupied,  704. 
Mather,  Cotton,  189-194. 

Increase,  188. 
May,  Colonel,  702,  723. 
Mayhew  Thomas,  94. 
Mechlenburg  declaration,  322. 
Megapolensis,  Domine,  122,  200. 
Meigs,  Colonel,  407,  600. 
McCrea,  Jenny,  429. 
McCulloch,  Major,  715. 
McHenry,  Fort,  defended,  627. 
Melendez,  Pedro,  32,  33. 
Mercer,  General  Hugh,  371,  398. 

Fort,  defended,  426. 
Mesilla  Valley  purchased,  786. 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  162,  524. 
Mifflin,  Thomas,  321,  370,  517  ;  Gov.,  542. 
Miantonomoh,  85,  86. 
Minuits,  Peter,  115,  123. 
Mississippi.  25,  203. 
Missions,  Jesuit,  35,  198,  201,  202,  208. 

Spanish,  149. 

Missouri  Compromise,  648-651. 
Mobilian  tribes,  9. 
Mohawks,  or  Huron-Iroquois,  9,  117, 119, 

199,  208,  334,  414 
Mohegans,  84, 118,  121. 
Monongahela,  battle,  237. 

first  settlers  on,  541. 
Molino  del  Rey,  battle,  760. 


r 


< 


Monmouth,  battle,  450. 

Monroe,  James,  394,    547,  565  ;    Sec.  of 

State,  607  ;  President,  644-654. 
Monroe  doctrine,  652. 
Monterey  captured,  706. 
Moutcalm,  253,  254,  258  ;  death,  265. 
Montgomery,  Richard,  339,  342. 
Monts,  Sieur  de,  35. 
Morality,  laws  enioining,  56, 135,  275. 
Moravians,  159,  161,  164,  509. 
Morgan,  Daniel,  336,  342,  420,  434,  489 
Mormons,  779-781. 
Morris,  Gouverneur,  540. 

Robert,  500. 

Morse,  Samuel  F.  B.,  796. 
Moultrie,  Fort,  361. 
Muhlenburg,  Colonel,  404. 


Narragansets,  169, 174. 
Nashville,  465. 
Natchez,  217,  218. 
National  Bank,  532. 

debts  assumed,  532. 
Bank,  642. 
flag,  409. 

Naval  efforts,  345,  346. 
Navy,  the,  404,  545,  593. 

department  of,  530. 
Nebraska  bill,  787. 
Nelson,  Governor,  504. 
Newark  burned,  608. 
New  Amsterdam,  115, 124. 

York  city,  113,  114,  674. 

York  province,  127. 

Netherland,  115,  126. 

Sweden,  124. 

Jersey,  128. 

Haven,  88. 

France,  196. 

Orleans,  217  ;  battle,  635. 

London  burned,  503. 

Lights,  223,  286. 
Nicholson,  Francis,  155,  182. 
Nipmucks,  172,  175. 
Norfolk  burned,  352. 
North,  Lord,  299,  301,  442,  511. 
Nullification,  666. 


O'Brien,  Captain,  720,  725. 
Oglethorpe,  156-166. 
Ohio  Company,  225. 

State  of,  556. 
Old  Lights,  223. 
Opechancanough,  96,  97,  103. 
Orders  in  Council,  581.  588. 
Ordinance  of  1787,  522. 
Oregon,  boundary,  695-698. 

emigration  to,  732  ;  State  of,  733. 
Otis,  James,  284,  296. 

Packenham,  General,  635,  637. 

Palo  Alto,  battle,  700. 

Parker,  Sir  Peter,  361. 

Parliament,  measures  of,  346. 

Parris,  Samuel,  190-194. 

Patroons,  116. 

Penn,  William,  131-139,  291. 

Pennsylvania,  133  ;  settlers,  German,  136 ; 

Presbyterian,  138  ;  Western,  541. 
Pepperell,  William,  220. 
Pequods,  war  with,  84-88. 
Perry,  Commodore.  787. 

O.  H.,  602.    ' 

Philadelphia,  134  ;  taken,  424. 
Philip's,  King,  war,  169-175. 
Phillips,  General,  414,  489. 
Phipps,  Sir  William,  191,  2lf. 


i 


I 


INDEX. 


Pierce,  Franklin,  756,  786. 
Pilgrims  in  Holland,  62-64. 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  66. 
Pinckuey,  Charles  C.,  547. 
Pitcairn,  Major,  315,  333. 
Pitt,  William,  256,  292,  310. 
Pittsburg,  260,  270. 
Pizarro,  14. 
Pocahontas,  49,  52,  54. 
"Polk,  James  K.,  691  ;  President,  693,  704, 

710. 
Pontiac,  269-272. 


Porter,  Captain,  611. 
Portland  burned,  345. 


Powhatan,  48,  49. 
Prejudices,  sectional,  348,  371. 
Presbyterians,  129,  138,  141,  147,  151,  274, 

524,  541. 

President,  frigate,  taken,  640. 
Prescott,  Colonel  William,  328,  381. 

General,  capture  of,  416. 
Press,  the,  91,  105,  135,  177,  797. 

liberty  of,  vindicated,  187. 
Preston,  Captain,  298. 
Princeton,  battle,  397. 
Prisoners  of  war,  402,  514. 
Prevost,  Sir  George,  599,  621. 
Provost,  Bishop,  529. 
Pulaski,  Count,  419,  423,  462. 
Puritans,  60,  102,  168. 
Putnam,  Israel,  248,  317,  330,  374,  402. 

Quakers,  92,  130,  136,  147,  279. 
Quebec  Act,  304. 

founded,  36,  262,  266,  341. 
Queenstown  attacked,  590. 
Quincy,  Josiah,  298. 

Josiah,  jr.,  582. 
Quitman,  John,  General,  707. 

Raisin  River,  battle,  599. 

Rahl,  Colonel,  392,  394. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  39,  41  ;  death,  43. 

Randolph,  Edmund,  521,  531. 

John,  580. 

Rawdon,  Lord,  495,  496. 
Heed,  Adjutant-general,  392,  396. 
Reformation,  the,  27,  28. 
Republics,  South  American,  646. 
Republican  parties,  538,  792. 
Repudiation,  676. 
Resaca  de  la  Palma,  battle,  702. 
Revere,  Paul,  303,  315. 
Revival,  great,  223. 
Revolt  of  soldiers,  486. 
Revolution,  Avar  of,  311-512. 

French,  538. 

Rhode  Island,  81,  91,  92,  168,  691 
Rice,  148. 

Ringgold,  Major,  701. 
Riots  at  Baltimore,  586. 
Riviflgton's  Gazette,  350. 
Roberval,  Lord  of,  20,  21. 
Robertson,  James,  464. 
Robinson,  Rev.  John,  61,  64. 
Rochambeau,  Count  de,  472,  500. 
Rodgers,  Captain,  574. 
Ross,  General  Robert,  623,  627. 
Russell,  Lord  John,  553. 
Rutledge,  Edward,  378. 

Sabbath,  the,  135,  241,  275. 

Samoset,  70. 

Santa  Anna,   685,   688,   710,   714,  716-728, 

749,  754,  764. 
Santa  Fe  taken,  739. 
San  Jacinto,  battle,  688. 


Saratoga,  the  surrender,  437. 
Sassacus,  86,  87. 
Savannah,  158,  462. 
Sayle,  William,  144. 
Schenectady  burned,  210. 
Schools,  91,  104,  135,  276,  278, 797. 
Schuyler,  Peter,  214.      ' 

'    General    Philip,  333,   337, 

360,  408,  416,  428,  431. 
Scott,  Lieutenant-General  Winfleld,  591, 

617,  662  ;  Mexican  War,  705,  713,  746, 

755. 

Sears,  Robert,  321,  350. 
Seminoles,  150 ;  war  with,  646,  670. 
Shawnees,  199,  227. 
Shay's  rebellion,  518. 
Sherlock,  Bishop,  285. 
Sherman,  Roger,  367. 
Shingis,  230,  251. 
Silk  culture,  157, 161. 
Sioux  or  Dahcotahs,  9,  202. 
Slater,  Samuel,  534. 
Slave  law,  fugitive,  779. 

representation,  521,  631. 
trade,  309,  366,  367,  522,  682. 
Slavery  in  the  colonies,  96,  125, 146, 161, 

166,  278,  281. 
Slavery  in  the  territories,  522,  649,  773, 

775,  777,  788. 

Slavery  discussion  on,  772,  778. 
waves  in  British  army,  514. 
Sloughter,  Colonel  Henry,  183, 184. 
Smith,  John,  47-62,  58. 

Joseph,  779. 

Smugglers,  English,  163. 
Society  for   propogating   the    Gospel  in 

foreign  parts,  151, 159. 
Soto,  de,  22-26. 
Sons  of  Liberty,  290,  321. 
Squanto,  58,  70. 
St.  Clair,  General,  403,   414-416  :   defeat. 

535. 

St.  Leger,  General,  430. 
Specie  Circular,  674. 
Speculation,  673,  674,  676. 
Stamp  Act,  288,  293. 
Standish,  Miles,  66,  72. 
Stark,  John,  248, 317,  330, 393 ;  Benniugton, 

State  Department,  346. 

Stephenson,  Fort,  defended,  600. 

Steuben,  Baron  de,  446,  498. 

Stirling,  Lord,  General,  375. 

Stockton,  Commodore,  737. 

Stonington  bombarded,  628. 

Stony  Point,  taken,  461. 

Stoughton,  William,  178, 191-194. 

Stuyvesant  Peter,  122-126. 

Susquehannas,  100, 105. 

Sub-Treasury,  675. 

Sullivan,  John,  General,  312,  358,  373,  391- 

421,  453,  458. 
Sumter,  General,  472. 

Talleyrand,  549. 
Taney,  Roger  B.,  669. 
Tariffs,  532,  642,  653,  659,  660,  665,  667,  769. 
Tarleton,  Colonel,  468,  489. 
Taxes,  parliamentary,  283,  287,  296. 
Taylor,  Zachary,  570 ;  Mexican  war,  695, 
699,  702,  706,  721 ;  President,  771,  778. 
Tea  taxed,  295,  301 ;  destroyed,  303. 
Tecumseh,  575,  600,  603. 
Telegraph,  the,  796. 
Temperance  Movement,  798. 
Tonnent,  Rev.  William,  224, 
Territory,  North- west,  522. 


* 


ft  It 


Thames,  battle,  603. 
Thanksgiving  day,  72. 
?    Thomas,  General,  336, 355,  359. 
Thomson,  Charles,  307. 
Ticonderoga  taken,  319,  and  415. 
Tippecanoe,  battle,  577. 
Toleration,  102. 
Tompkins,  Daniel  D.,  543. 
Tories,  299,  514,  518. 
Trade,  colonial,  110  ;  restrictions,  146, 168, 

177,  281. 

Treasury  Department,  357,  530. 
Treaties  with  England,  512 ;  Jay's,  544,  at 

Ghent,  638  ;  at  Washington,  682. 
Treaties  with  Spain,  545,  648. 

Algiers,  545,  641. 

Mexico,  767. 

Japan,  787. 

Ottoman  empire,  672. 

Indians,  536,  642. 
Trenton,  battle,  392. 

Trist,  N.  P.,  commissioner,  752,  760,  767. 
Tryon,  Governor,  350,  405,  460. 
Tuscaroras,  152,  153. 
Tyler,  John,  678-692. 

Uncas,  86,  123,  169. 

United  colonies  of  New  England,  90. 

Thirteen,  344. 
States,  368. 

Union  Flag,  349. 

Valley  Forge,  440. 
Van  Buren,  Martin,  673-676. 
Vane,  Harry,  78,  80, 167. 
Vandreuil,  214,  266. 
Vera  Cruz  taken,  747. 
Verrazzani,  17, 18. 
Vespucci,  Amerigo,  6. 
Virginia,  40,  45,  96. 
Volunteers  ;  Mexican  War,  705. 


Waldron.Major,  209. 

Walker,  Robert  J.,  793. 

Walloons,  first  settlers  on  Long  Island, 

115. 

"Wampanoags,  169, 172. 
Wamsutta,  death  of,  170. 
Warren,  Dr.  Joseph,  314,  333. 
War  declared  against  England,  ,584. 

Department,  357. 
Wars  with  England,  584-642. 

Enelaud  and  Spain,  149,  163, 164. 
Wars,  King  George's,  219. 

Indian,  84-88,  97,  103,  105,  117--122, 
169-175,  534,  646,  670. 


I  Wars  of  the  Revolution,  311-512. 
with  Tripoli,  557. 
King  William's,  208. 
Washington,  Fort,  taken,  384. 

George,  youth,  227-229,  230, 
232,  237,  260  ;  commander-in-chief,  325, 
337,  355,  380,  383,  385,  392-398,  413,  421, 
423,  451,  466,  500,  515;  retirement, 
517,  520 ;  President.  527-546  :  death, 
552! 
Washington,  John,  105. 

Colonel  William,  490,  495. 
City  pillaged,  626. 
Wayne,  Anthony,  404,  423;  Stony  Point, 

461 ;  499,  536. 
Webster,  Daniel,  613,  629,  684;   Sec.  of 

State,  680,  774  ;  death,  784. 
Wesley,  John  and  Charles,  161, 162. 
Wetherford.  the  chief,  609,  610. 
Wheelock,  Rev.  E.,  294. 
WhigSj  209. 

Whiskey  Insurrection,  541-543. 
Whitefield,  George,  162,  220,  224. 
White  Plains,  battle,  382. 
Whitney,  Eli,  656. 
Wilkinson,  James,  General,  390,  605,  607. 

617. 

William  III.,  136,  180. 
Williams,  Eunice,  213. 

Colonel  E.,  249,  250. 
O.  H.,  491. 

Roger,  78,  79,  85,  91, 175. 
Wilmot  Proviso,  772. 
Winchester,  General,  599. 
Winder,  General,  623-625. 
Winslow,  Edward,  66,  69,  71,  79. 
Winthrop,  John,  76. 

John,  jr.,  168. 
Wise,  Rev.  John,  179. 
Witchcraft,  Salem,  188-194. 
Witherspoon,  Dr.  307. 
Wolfe,  James,  257,  263-265. 
Wool,  John  E.,  591,  706,  717,  712,  728. 
Wooster,  General,  339,  406. 
Worth,  William  J.,  706,  709,  713,  749,  757 

761. 

Writs  of  Assistance,  283. 
Wyoming,  ruin  of,  454 ;  revenged,  458. 

Yamasees,  152, 154. 
Yeaniane,  Sir  John,  143, 146. 
Yeardley,  George,  55,  98. 
York,  taken,  606. 
Yorktown,  siege  of,  503-505. 

Zenger,  John  Peter,  187. 


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